Stocks fade late over new Greece worries

Source: AP-Excite

By MATTHEW CRAFT

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market sagged in the final half-hour of trading on Wednesday after Europe's central bank withdrew a key financial support for Greek banks. The price of oil plunged, dragging down energy stocks.

The European Central Bank late in the day said that Greek banks could no longer access ECB credit using government bonds or bonds guaranteed by the government as collateral for loans.

The move unsettled investors and knocked most U.S. indexes lower.

Major U.S. indexes got off to a weak start Wednesday as a renewed drop in crude oil tugged down shares of energy companies. The Standard & Poor's 500 recovered its losses by midday, meandered through the afternoon, then swung from a solid gain to a slight loss in the market's last 30 minutes following the announcement from the ECB.

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FILE - This Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, file photo, shows the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. Stock markets turned lower on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, despite upbeat economic data in Europe, while the price of oil's four-day rebound ran out of steam. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

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