FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2014 file photo, American flags fly in front of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. U.S. stocks are opening sharply lower Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, following a slump in global markets. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) (The Associated Press)
NEW YORK – U.S. stocks are sharply lower in midday trading following a slump in global markets.
European markets slid after an early presidential vote was called in Greece, which investors feared could jeopardize the struggling country's bailout program.
Stocks also fell in China after regulators there tightened rules for lending.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 164 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,690 as of noon Eastern time.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 16 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,043. The Nasdaq composite lost 25 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,714.
The price of crude oil rebounded from a dip the day before, rising 58 cents to $63.63 a barrel in New York.
Government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.21 percent.
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