LONDON: U.S. stocks ended lower Wednesday, with the Dow industrials posting their biggest one-day decline in nearly a month, as recent optimism about a bailout deal for Greece faded.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 178.00 points, or 1%, to 17966.07, its largest one-day drop since May 26.
The S&P 500 index lost 15.62 points, or 0.7%, to 2108.58, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 37.68 points, or 0.7%, to 5122.41.
Declines were broad-based. All 10 S&P 500 sectors were in negative territory, led by a 1.3% fall in materials stocks.
Wednesday’s losses dragged the Dow industrials into negative territory for the month, down 0.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has added 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite has advanced 1% in June so far.
Remarks from European finance ministers suggested a Greek bailout deal wasn’t likely to be reached until later this week. Significant divisions remain over measures Greece must implement to receive the bailout funds. Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attacked the country’s international creditors after they rejected a list of economic measures Greece said it was willing to undertake in exchange for financial aid.
