Stocks fell significantly Thursday after Greece received another credit downgrade and the U.S. dollar rose following cautious comments on the U.S. economy Wednesday from the Federal Reserve (Fed). In economic news, U.S. leading economic indicators rose 0.9 percent in November, the eighth consecutive monthly increase, and U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week. In Washington, the Senate Banking Committee voted 16-to-7 to confirm Ben Bernanke for another four-year term as Fed chairman. Separately, the Treasury Department canceled plans to start selling part of its 34 percent stake in Citigroup after the bank"s offering of 5.4 billion shares of common stock attracted weak demand. The U.S. dollar rebounded 1.3 percent versus the euro to its highest level since September. The currency also rose slightly against the yen. Light sweet crude for January delivery fell 1 cent to $72.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for February delivery fell $28.80 to $1,107.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 132.86, or 1.3 percent, to 10,308.26. Bank shares were hard hit, with Citigroup losing 7.5 percent, J.P. Morgan Chase falling 2.6 percent, and American Express down 2 percent. The broader Standard & Poor"s 500 index fell 13.11, or 1.2 percent, to 1,096.07. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 26.86, or 1.2 percent, to 2,180.05. The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 117.02 to 7,063.75. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 25.08 to 1,762.11. And the Russell 2000 index fell 6.96 to 604.25. --SPA
