Stocks Wavered on European Debt Crisis

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Tuesday, as doubts remain whether European leaders can contain the continent’s debt and economic crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 1.66 points to 12,099.80  . The S&P 500 Index was up 0.59 point to 1,278.77. The Nasdaq Composite was 4.05 points to 2,764.06.

The European Union-Group of Seven teleconference scheduled for Tuesday is part of “regular exchanges” and not a cause for alarm, a European Commission spokesman said. Germany will ultimately take whatever steps necessary to keep the euro zone intact, said Deutsche Bank’s former Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann on Monday.

Spain warned Tuesday that the moment was nearing when it would be unable to borrow in the bond market without help from its European partners, as reports said Group of 7 finance and central bank officials were preparing to hold a conference call later in the day to discuss the crisis in Europe.

Oil hovered below $84 a barrel Tuesday, wavering near an eight-month low. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for July delivery was down 24 cents to $83.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 75 cents to settle at $83.98 in New York on Monday.

MF Global Holdings Ltd could have more than $3 billion in claims against its former affiliates, Louis Freeh, the trustee overseeing the wind-down of the parent company of the collapsed broker-dealer, said in his first status report. The potential recoveries for the parent company’s creditors will come primarily from such claims, Freeh said in his 119-page report that was submitted to the bankruptcy court.