NEW YORK — The stock market extended its slide Wednesday after investors couldn’t shake their concerns about European countries’ big debt loads.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down about 59 points to put its two-day drop at 284. The Dow halved its loss by the close but finished off its high of the day. Treasury prices rose and pushed down interest rates in the bond market for a second day.
A drop in the euro and a rise in the dollar continued to ram markets around the world. The stronger dollar hurts U.S. stocks by cutting into profits of U.S. companies that do business abroad.
Investors are concerned that a $144 billion aid package for Greece won’t be adequate to keep debt problems in Europe from spreading. There were also questions about whether the bailout would amount to more than a short- term fix for Greece. Investors don’t want the trouble in Greece to spill to other countries and disrupt a global rebound.
The Dow fell 58.65, or 0.5 percent, to 10,868.12. It had been up as much as 20 points and down nearly 112. It’s down 2.5 percent in two days, its steepest back-to- back drop in three months.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 7.73, or 0.7 percent, to 1,165.87, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 21.96, or 0.9 percent, to 2,402.29.
