NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are dropping sharply in early trading ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress on the outlook for the U.S. economy.
Stocks fell broadly a day earlier after Greece said it will not be able to make budget cuts it agreed to as part of a deal to receive emergency loans. That raised new concerns about the strength of Europe’s financial system.
Monday’s declines sent the benchmark S&P 500 to the edge of a bear market ? a 20 percent decline from its April 29 high.
Minutes after the market opened, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 118 points, or 1.1 percent, to 10,537. The S&P 500 lost 12, or 1.1 percent, to 1,087. The Nasdaq fell 20, or 0.9 percent, to 2,316.
