Greece turmoil shadows markets

Europe's latest political impasse cast a gloom over financial markets Tuesday. The euro plunged, and the Dow Jones industrial average extended a slide that has wiped out nearly 5 percent of its value in two weeks.

The biggest action of the day came shortly before U.S. markets opened, when a Greek party leader announced the talks to build a coalition government had failed, and new elections must be held. The euro and major European stock markets turned sharply lower and stayed there the rest of the day.

Newly elected political leaders in Greece disagree about whether to accept more international bailouts and continue with painful spending cuts. If Greece exits the euro currency, it could rattle financial markets around the world.

In the United States, stocks opened mixed and then staged a weak, midmorning rally after word that confidence among U.S. builders rose to a five-year high in May, The index has risen for seven of the past eight months. Home builders rallied.

The Dow wound up with a loss of 63.35 points to close at 12,632. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 0.57 percent, at 1,330.66. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.30 percent to 2,893.76.