NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are taking a late slide after Fitch Ratings put out a report saying U.S. banks could take a big hit if Europe’s debt crisis spreads.
U.S. indexes were moving between small gains and losses for most of the day Wednesday before Fitch put its report out at 3:30 p.m. The Dow was down 75 points shortly before the report came out, then lost as many as 184 points shortly after.
Banks, which would have the earliest and deepest losses from an escalation of Europe’s financial crisis, fell the most. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. each fell 3 percent.
Shortly before the closing bell, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 165 points, or 1.4 percent, at 11,930.