US stocks tumble over concern for global recovery

New York, Dec 18 : US stocks tumbled across the board Thursday over concern about global recovery as the US dollar rose.

Standard and Poors' decision Wednesday to reduce Greece's credit rating for the second time this year raised concern about the lingering global recession, making investors across Asia, Europe and the US jittery.

Another factor was the Federal Reserve's announcement after its two-day meeting that most of its lending programmes will expire as scheduled Feb 1, Bloomberg financial news service reported.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 132.86 points, or 1.27 percent, to 10,308.26. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index lost 13.10 points, or 1.18 percent, to 1,096.08. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 26.86 points, or 1.22 percent, to 2,180.05.

Markets in Europe and Asia also declined.

The US currency rose to its highest level in three months, to 69.69 euro cents, from 68.82 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar also rose against the Japanese currency to 89.895 from 89.79 the day before.