U.S. Stocks Fall On Debt Contagion Fears

U.S. stocks are under heavy pressure today as the debt contagion fears in Europe have begun to seep in. Stocks in Europe erased all their 2010 gains and the Euro sank to a one-year low.

The Dow dropped below the 11,000 level, falling 214 points to 10,938. The S&P dropped below the key 1,200 level, last trading down 26 points to 1,176. The Nasdaq is down the most in percentage terms, down 2.9% to 2,425.

In addition the Greece concerns after the massive EU/IMF bailout this weekend, fears that Spain and Portugal are in trouble are front and center in traders minds after last week's debt downgrades.

In response to speculation that his country needed a bailout, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called it "complete madness," saying his country is solidly solvent.

Better-than-expected earnings from Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Merck (NYSE: MRK), MasterCard (NYSE: MA) have done little to settle U.S. investors.

Shares Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), which have been under pressure since the SEC fraud charges and reports of a criminal probe, are surprisingly higher today, albeit only fractionally. Goldman is bucking the downtrend on reports the company could soon be in talks with the SEC to settle the fraud charges.

The sell-off in stocks in the U.S. and overseas also has key commodities like Oil and Gold lower today. Oil is down 3% to $83.40 and Gold is down 0.9% to $1,172.

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