Stocks Suffer Worst Drop of 2012

U.S. stocks traded sharply lower on Tuesday, suffering their worst one-day loss this year, as investors focus on the risk of a disorderly default in Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 203.66 points, or 1.57%, to 12,759.15, its first loss of more than 200 points since November 23. The S&P 500 lost 20.97 points, or 1.54%, to 1,343.36, led by 2% declines in financials and industrial stocks. The Nasdaq Composite lost 40.16 points, or 1.36%, to 2,910.32.

Greece continues to rattle investor nerves ahead of a Thursday deadline for private investors to voluntarily offer up Greek government bonds in a debt swap that will cut the value of their holdings by more than half.

President Obama is announcing new mortgage relief for members of the military and veterans as well as homeowners with government-insured loans. The initiatives are the latest administration attempt to help borrowers struggling under a depressed housing market.

A Houston jury has convicted Texas financier R. Allen Stanford on all but one of the charges he faced for allegedly bilking investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

Apple Inc is betting a 4G-equipped iPad will tempt more U.S. consumers to pay extra to watch high-quality video on the go, and in turn, give Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc a revenue boost.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:CY) said late Tuesday it lowered its outlook for the first quarter because of a downturn in orders. The company forecast adjusted first-quarter earnings of 8 cents to 11 cents a share on revenue of $180 million to $190 million.