AlQa'dah 10, 1433, Sep 26, 2012, SPA - U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, as all three indexes ended at their lowest levels since September 12. In U.S. economic news, the real estate market continued to appear to recover, as the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed that home prices in 20 major cities rose for a third consecutive month in July. Also, consumer confidence in September surged, according to the government. But Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said the central bank's latest round of stimulus measures is unlikely to help growth, which sent stocks lower. In international news, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that while the ECB's latest efforts are supporting financial markets, they must be completed with “decisive measurements by governments to address fundamental challenges and complete the euro area's institutional architecture." In company news, Caterpillar shares slid, making it the worst performer on the Dow, after it cut its forecast for 2015. Google shares hit an all-time intraday high of $764.89 Tuesday, but pulled back to close at $749.16. Facebook fell lower, extending its losses from Monday's 9 percent plunge in the wake of a $15 price call for Facebook by Barron's. The dollar lost ground against the euro and the pound, but gained ground versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery fell 56 cents to $91.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures added $1.80 to $1,766.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 101.37, or 0.75 percent, to 13,457.55. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15.3, or 1.05 percent, to 1,441.59. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 43.05, or 1.36 percent, to 3,117.73.
