NEW YORK — Stocks are falling in morning trading Tuesday as investors remain concerned that a deal to cut Greece’s debt might fall through.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 79 points to 12,629 just after 10 a.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 index is 8 points lower at 1,308. The Nasdaq composite is down 14 points to 2,770.
A deal with bondholders is considered critical to the stability of Europe’s financial system. Greece currently has far more debt than it can ever pay back and investors fear that if the country defaults it could trigger a financial panic. Time is running out for politicians and banks to mend the problem; Greece has several billions euros in debt due in March.
Most European markets are down about 1 percent.
Among stocks making large moves Tuesday:
• Kimberly-Clark Corp., which makes Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers and other household goods, fell 3 percent after the company reported earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ forecasts. Rising costs pushed Kimberly-Clark’s income down 19 percent in the fourth quarter. The company also forecast 2012 earnings that were less than analysts were expecting.
• Zions Bancorporation fell 8 percent, the most of any stock in the S&P 500, after the Salt Lake City-based bank reported income that fell far short of Wall Street’s expectations. The difference between what the bank earns on interest and what it pays out fell in the most recent quarter. At least one analyst downgraded the stock.
• Hard disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. led gainers in the S&P after reporting that its results handily beat Wall Street’s expectations. The stock jumped 8 percent.
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