NEW YORK – Stocks plunged around the world Tuesday as fears spread that Europe’s attempt to contain Greece’s debt crisis would fail. The euro fell to its lowest point against the dollar in a year.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 225 points, its biggest drop in three months. The slide erased a 143-point gain from Monday. The Dow and broader indexes each fell more than 2 percent. Meanwhile, Treasury prices rose on increased demand for safe investments.

Stocks have seesawed in the past week as European countries’ efforts to agree on a bailout package for Greece proceeded in fits and starts. An agreement finally came together over the weekend, but its ballooning size of $144 billion has investors worried that Europe would have an even tougher time assembling an aid package if a larger country such as Spain or Portugal were to get in trouble. Traders are concerned that problems in Greece and other countries could spill over to the rest of Europe and in turn, the U.S.

The market’s plunge wasn’t a surprise to some analysts, who have warned for weeks that stocks were due for a retreat. After Monday’s rally, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up almost 14 percent from its 2010 low of 1,056.74, reached Feb. 8. Investors have spent the past three months largely shrugging off the problems in Europe and focusing instead on the continuing signs of improvement in the U.S. economy.

The Dow fell 225.06, or 2 percent, to 10,926.77, its lowest close since April 7. The Dow was down as much as 283 points at its low of the day.

The S&P 500 index fell 28.66, or 2.4 percent, to 1,173.60. As with the Dow, it was the worst drop for the S&P since Feb. 4. The Nasdaq composite index fell 74.49, or 3 percent, to 2,424.25.

Investors rushed to safer holdings like Treasurys, pushing interest rates sharply lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.60 percent from 3.69 percent late Monday.

The dollar rose against other major currencies, especially the euro. The euro sank as low as $1.2994 in New York, its weakest point since April 2009. It was worth $1.3212 late Monday and had traded as high as $1.51 last November.

 

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