Another Down Day for Stocks

Stocks are falling sharply at the close of trading on Wall Street, extending a slump into a second day as investors worry about the potential for gridlock in Washington.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 121 points to close at 12,811, bringing its two-day loss to 434 points.

The Dow plunged 313 on Wednesday as worries about Europe's faltering economy and a looming showdown in the U.S. over fiscal policy came back into focus now that the presidential election had been decided.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 17 points to end at 1,378 and the Nasdaq composite lost 42 points to end at 2,896. Nearly three stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was 3.7 billion, higher than the recent average.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)