Dow Falls Below 11,000 On Debt Worries and Goldman Sachs Drama

The Dow closed down nearly 2%, or 213 points, and below the key 11,000 level today as issues in Europe triggered worries of debt crisis contagion.

Intra-day, S&P downgraded Greece debt to "junk" status and also downgraded another potential trouble-spot Portugal two-notches to 'A-'.

Standard & Poor's lowered its long-and short-term sovereign credit ratings on the Greece to 'BB+' and 'B', respectively, from 'BBB+' and 'A-2'. The firm cited the challenges that the Greek government faces in its efforts to put the public debt burden onto a sustained downward trajectory.

Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term local and foreign currency sovereign issuer credit ratings on the Republic of Portugal to 'A-' from 'A+'. At the same time, the local and foreign currency short-term ratings were lowered to 'A-2' from 'A-1.' The firm expects the Portuguese government will struggle to stabilize its relatively high debt ratio over the outlook horizon until 2013.

In addition to the debt concerns, the grilling of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) executives on Capitol Hill today captivated traders.

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