US stocks suffer worst day in month

NEW YORK - US stocks declined on Tuesday, with major indexes suffering their worst day in about a month, as concerns over Spain weighed on market sentiment.

When the market closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 101.37 points, or 0.75 percent, to 13,457.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 15.30 points, or 1.05 percent, to 1,441.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 43.05 points, or 1.36 percent, to 3,117.73.

Stocks had been higher in early trading as the latest batch of economic data indicated that recovery in the US housing sector was stronger than expected and consumer sentiment jumped to a seven-month high.

According to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home price index, average home prices in 20 major cities increased by 1.6 percent in July. The data beat previous forecasts and confirmed the recent positive news about housing, showing that the battered housing sector was gradually bottoming out.

In addition, the US consumer confidence index, compiled by the research group Conference Board, increased to 70.3 in September, up from 61.3 in August. The result was far better than economists' median expectation of 63 to 65.

However, major indexes erased early gains in afternoon trading as concerns over Europe once again took center stage.

Demonstrators clashed with police in Spain's capital on Tuesday in a large-scale protest against the government's austerity plan, rekindling fears about the region's ongoing debt woes.