U.S., Europe economic worries sink stocks

Stocks fell Wednesday amid concern about the strength of the economy and an impasse over European bailout talks, while Apple tumbled on disappointing results.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15.50 points, or 1.26 percent to 1,209.88. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 72.43, or 0.63 percent, to close at 11,504.62. The Nasdaq composite slid 53.39, or 2.01 percent, to 2,604.04.

Global stocks fell as France and Germany split on the role of the European Central Bank in leveraging a rescue fund as banks lobbied against forced recapitalizations and larger write-downs of Greek debt. French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to Germany to join the talks as leaders assembled in Frankfurt to narrow divisions before a Sunday summit.

"Time is running out for Europe," Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, said. "The longer it waits to fix itself, the more uncertainty there is. In the U.S., earnings are not bad, but we're seeing a bit of erosion in positive surprises. We set the top of the range on the S&P 500. It would take a lot of good news to get through 1,230."

The Federal Reserve said consumer spending rose slightly last month and the economy maintained its expansion.

Apple tumbled 5.59 percent to $398.62. Apple sold 17.07 million iPhones, less than the 20 million projected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, as consumers held out for the iPhone 4S.

Bank of America dropped 3.61 percent to $6.40. Wells Fargo fell 2.63 percent to $25.18. Comerica slumped 10.52 percent to $23.13, and M&T Bank decreased 5.55 percent to $72.79 after reporting that net interest margins declined in the third quarter.