Stocks Fell on Greece, Spain Worries

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials  off for a sixth session, as the political upheaval in Greece and concern about Spanish banks shook investor confidence. The Dow fell 97.03 points, or 0.75%, to 12,835.06. The S&P 500 dropped 9.14 points, or 0.67%, to 1,354.58. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 11.56 points, or 0.39%, to 2,934.71.

Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras, whose party came first in last weekend’s elections that produced a hung parliament, has not reached an agreement for a coalition government with the head of the runner-up Radical Left Coalition.

Stocks of unsold goods at wholesalers rose modestly in March, according to government data on Wednesday that suggested a downward revision to the initial first-quarter growth estimate. Wholesale inventories increased 0.3 percent to a record $480.4 billion, the Commerce Department said, after an unrevised 0.9 percent rise in February.

Cisco Systems on Wednesday reported a 20% rise in fiscal third-quarter profit on stronger sales. Cisco posted profit of $2.2 billion, or 40 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.8 billion, or 33 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $11.6 billion, up from $10.9 billion. Adjusted profit was 48 cents a share.

News Corp. said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 47% on a gain related to a stock-buyback program at British Sky Broadcasting as well as higher earnings at its cable-television networks. The media conglomerate (NASDAQ:NWS) said it earned $937 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with a profit of $639 million or 24 cents in the same period last year.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (GMCR) has concluded that no other senior officials have the sort of margin account that led the company to strip its founder, Robert Stiller, of his role as chairman on Tuesday.

Honda Motor Co. has won the reversal of a $9,867 small-claims judgment awarded to an owner who claimed the Japanese automaker fraudulently overstated the fuel economy of her Civic hybrid car.

General Motors Co (GM) and PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG.PA) are hammering out agreements for the projects they want to tackle together as part of their new global alliance, including expanding the number of vehicles they will build on shared platforms.