Why the Dow Is Down Today

Dan Dzombak, The Motley Fool
Updated

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) is falling for the third day in a row as the Greek debt deal looks to be delayed. At 11 a.m. EST, the Dow was down 98.5 points to 12,561.96.

The Dow is down after German Chancellor Angela Merkel declined to discuss Greece this morning at a European summit in Brussels. The reason given was that the governing bodies that oversee the Greek bailout packages are still in talks with Greece, banks, and other bondholders. Investors believe a second debt bailout is needed to keep Greece from defaulting

Leading the Dow's charge down are bank stocks Bank of America (NYS: BAC) and JPMorgan (NYS: JPM) , down 3% and 1.6%, respectively. These stocks have a tendency to swing with the state of the Greece talks and as such are down today. Fool analyst Sean Williams has written about what you need to know about the Greek debt talks. Also weighing on these stocks are this morning's downgrades by Goldman Sachs. Bank of America was downgraded from buy to neutral, while JPMorgan was downgraded from conviction buy to buy.

Foolish bottom line The Greek debt situation is moving the Dow today, and with it being earnings season, there are plenty of companies out there that investors need to watch that could move the Dow. In the Fool's "Fourth-Quarter Earnings Report: 7 Stocks You'll Want to Watch," you'll find information on this quarter's possible big performers. It's completely free for our readers, so click here to access your free report today.

At the time thisarticle was published Dan Dzombak owns shares of Bank of America, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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