Dow sees worst day of 2012

Stocks slumped Wednesday as Greece, slogging through negotiations with other countries over a bailout, once again cast a long shadow over the financial markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 97.33 points to close at 12,780.95. It was the worst one-day decline for the Dow this year, and the index narrowly avoided its first triple-digit loss for the year. The average was down as much as 125 points.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index gave up their morning gains by afternoon. The S&P fell 7.27 points to 1,343.23. The Nasdaq fell 16 points to 2,915.83.

The declines were broad, with nine of the 10 industry groups in the S&P recording losses. The only group that didn't was materials, which was flat.

In a 3 1/2-hour conference call with the finance ministers of the other 16 countries that use the euro, Greece offered assurances that it had found 325 million euro ($424 million) in budget cuts in addition to harsh measures it has already promised.

But in a sign of the distrust that has built during the European debt crisis, particularly among richer countries, a European official said Greece would need tighter oversight of its budget before it receives another bailout.