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New York - US stocks gave up early gains in late trade on Tuesday after the IMF warned Greece's economy was facing deep risks and the Federal Reserve refrained from providing any new spark for the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.45 points to 11 954.94.
The broader S&P 500 fell 10.74 to 1 225.73, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 32.99 to 2 579.27.
The turn into negative territory was not clearly tied to one event; it began after the IMF said it was not in talks with Greece for another bailout loan and warned that Greece's economy was at an extremely vulnerable point.
The fall continued when the Fed issued its policy meeting report that failed to inspire buyers.
"The Fed signaled that while they are concerned (about the economy), they don't have any plan, any new aggressive policies," said Mace Blicksilver of Marblehead.
The Fed's policy panel was not expected to take significant action in its last meeting of the year, but some were still disappointed it did not even suggest that it was considering more stimulus for the future.
Analysts said new rumors that ratings agencies were poised to issue cuts to European sovereign ratings contributed to the downturn.
Andrea Kramer of Schaeffer's Investment Research also credited the turn from one-percent-plus gains in early trade into negative territory on light volume and year-end portfolio liquidations.
Electronics retailer Best Buy lost 15.5% after reporting lower-than-expected third quarter earnings.
Boeing shares closed unchanged despite announcing a new $19bn deal to sell 208 aircraft to Southwest Airlines.
Southwest was down 3.2%.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.96% from 2.01% on Monday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.00% from 3.05%.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
