NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks were weighed down Tuesday by unraveling debt talks in Europe and didn't get any help from a disappointing result on retail sales. The three major stock indexes were lower all day.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 72 points at 12,801 just before 3:30 p.m. EST, without much hope that it would reach the 13,000 milestone for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined seven points to 1,344. The Nasdaq fell 13 points to 2,917.
The declines were broad, with all 10 industry categories of the S&P 500 falling by late afternoon, led by materials and financial stocks. Bank of America led the Dow lower with a decline of 2.9 percent after a Citigroup analyst downgraded the stock.
A meeting of European finance chiefs, planned for Wednesday to discuss a second international bailout for Greece, was called off after Athens failed to deliver on several demands made by its partners in the euro currency union.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.4 percent last month, but analysts were expecting 0.7 percent, and spending on auto sales was down. Automakers had reported higher sales, so that could mean they have had to offer more discounts.
The stock market has been rising slowly but steadily most of this year, despite the unresolved debt crisis in Europe and a stalemate over U.S. tax policy and benefits for the long-term unemployed.
On Tuesday, investors appeared to be waiting for more clarity on all those issues before sinking more money into stocks, said Colleen Supran, a principal at the investment adviser Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough.
"Everyone wants to know the rules of the game before making these decisions," Supran said.
Greece passed deep spending cuts over the weekend, but they have not appeared to satisfy anybody. Greeks have rioted, saying the cuts are too harsh, and Greece's neighbors have expressed concern that the cuts are not enough.
Ben Schwartz, chief market strategist at Lightspeed Financial in Chicago, said U.S. stocks would continue to inch forward — not because investors are particularly optimistic about U.S. companies but because they have less faith in European governments.
"We're the best house in a bad neighborhood," he said.
Even people who don't invest directly in Europe can be affected psychologically by the cascade of contradictory and incremental news about the dealmaking over Greece's debts, he said.
"Every week it's, 'The sky is falling,' then, 'No, it's not.' 'There's rioting in the street,' then it's over. 'There's going to be a deal Friday,' then, 'No, it's not Friday, it's Wednesday,'" Schwartz said. "We really don't know what's underneath the covers over there."
Downbeat economic news from Europe reinforced the danger. Greece said its economy shrank 7 percent in the fourth quarter, and Europe is expected to report Wednesday that the economies of the 17 countries that use the euro shrank 0.4 percent after growing 0.1 percent the quarter before.
Late Monday, Moody's also downgraded its debt ratings on six European countries, including Italy, Portugal and Spain. Moody's also said it might cut France, Austria and the U.K. as well.
Among the biggest movers in the U.S. stock market:
— Yahoo fell 6 percent after reports that its plans to sell its Asian assets fell apart, further endangering a company that has fallen behind rivals like Google and Facebook.
— Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. fell 5 percent. It swung back to profitability in the last three months of last year and sold more higher-priced tires but missed analysts' expectations.
— Bank of America fell 2.5 percent after Citi analyst Keith Horowitz downgraded his rating to neutral, saying the bank's "legacy issues," notably its 2008 purchase of mortgage lender Countrywide, "will take a while to play out."
— Luxury retailer Michael Kors Holdings Limited shot up 23 percent after revenue skyrocketed 69 percent in latest quarter, a sign that wealthy customers are shopping even as the rest of the economy struggles. The company, which peddles $300 sequined jumpsuits and wristwatches at stores in cities like Milan and Paris, was helped by strong holiday sales as well as new stores.
— Zynga, maker of social-media games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, climbed 6 percent, indicating that investors are optimistic about an earnings report due out after the market closes. It will be the first report for the company, which went public in December.
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