European Debt Worries Push Market Lower

European debt crisis pushed the U.S. equity market lower yet again, with all three major indexes ending the day in red. The debt problem in the euro zone intensified today after Italian sovereign debt also came under pressure.

Market also fell after the release of weaker-than-expected housing market data, which showed that home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at their slowest pace in eight months in September. The S&P/case-Shill index of home prices rose 0.6% for the month of September, below economists’ forecast of a 1% rise.

The debt problems in the euro zone and the weak housing market data pushed market lower in early trading. However, stocks cut back some of the early losses after a Conference Board report showed that U.S. consumer confidence rose to the highest level in five months for the month of November.

All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in red today, with the worst performer being the healthcare sector. The Dow Jones ended the day 0.42% lower at 11,006.02, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.61% lower at 1,180.55 and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.07% lower at 2,498.23.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was among the major gainers in trading today. Shares of the BlackBerry maker ended the day 4.81% higher at $61.83. Meanwhile, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was among the worst performers in trading today. Shares of the Mountain View, California-based company ended the day 4.54% lower at $555.71.

Related posts:

1. Stocks Cut Back on Losses in Mid-Day Trading on Consumer Confidence Data
2. Market Closes Higher
3. Stock Futures Point to Mixed Opening; Bernanke Speech Awaited
4. Market Declines in Mid-Day Trading-Bank Stocks Decline on Concerns Relating to Foreclosure Moratoriums
5. Market has a Mixed Opening