NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes are falling after the government lowered its estimate of economic growth in the third quarter. Higher borrowing costs for Spain also renewed worries about Europe’s debt crisis.
Hewlett-Packard Co. sank 4 percent Tuesday, dragging down the Dow Jones industrial average. H-P lowered its earnings forecast for the 2012 fiscal year after the market closed Monday.
The U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September period, down from the government’s earlier estimate of 2.5 percent. Analysts had expected the rate to remain the same.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 98 points, or 0.9 percent, at 11,449 at noon.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 10 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,183. The Nasdaq composite lost 21, or 0.8 percent, to 2,502.
