Market Recap: EU Crisis Murders Stocks

Markets closed mixed today:

▼ Dow: -0.59 percent

▼ Nasdaq: -0.39 percent

▼ S&P: -0.43 percent

Precious metals:

▼ Gold: down -1.94 percent to $1,605.46 an ounce

▼ Silver: down -1.91 percent to settle at $29.45 an ounce

Commodities:

▼ Oil: -0.49 percent

Markets were mixed because:

Political uncertainty in debt-hobbled Europe spread to financial markets Tuesday and pushed stocks lower in Europe and the United States.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down almost 200 points at its low point for the day before recovering most of its loss to finish down 76. It was the average's fifth straight decline.

European indexes closed near their lowest levels in months, and the euro neared a five-month low against the dollar.

Prices plummeted for commodities like oil and copper that depend on the health of the world economy. The turmoil in Europe added to concerns about slower economic growth in China and weaker job creation in the U.S.

Trading throughout the markets is growing more volatile as Europe's debt crisis "accelerates to a point where it's not really controllable with the sorts of Band-Aids they've used," said Daniel Alpert, managing partner at the investment bank Westwood Capital Partners LLC.

Greek voters on Sunday rejected parties that had imposed the deep spending cuts demanded by Greece's bailout lenders. Cuts to pensions and social programs are deepening Greece's crushing recession.

On Tuesday, the left-wing politician struggling to form a new government declared that the country was no longer bound by its promises cut spending sharply in exchange for international bailout loans.

In the U.S., traders dumped risky assets and commodities, partly because of concern that a punishing recession in Europe would hurt economic demand. The price of oil continued its week-long slide. Copper and silver each lost more than 2 percent.

Gold fell $34.60 to a four-month low of $1,604.50. It dipped below $1,600 for the first time since early January. Gold often serves as a safe, stable investment to hold in turbulent times. But in periods of rapid selling, investors sometimes sell gold as a ready source of cash.

The stronger dollar contributed to the fall in commodity prices. Commodities are priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes them appear more expensive to traders who use other currencies.

Money flowed into safe investments such as U.S. Treasurys, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 1.85 percent from 1.88 percent late Monday.

A flurry of late-day buying helped the indexes recover from their earlier lows. The Dow closed down 76.44 points, or 0.6 percent, at 12,932.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.86 to 1,363.72. The Nasdaq composite index fell 11.49 to 2,946.27. The S&P had been down almost 22 points and the Nasdaq almost 58.

Markets have been buffeted for three years by shifting perceptions about the gravity of the European debt crisis. At times, many feared a messy string of government defaults would set off a global credit crunch.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.