Investor jitters after US market slides

THE Australian share market is expected to open in negative territory after US stocks snapped a three-day winning streak. US stocks closed sharply lower after an early rise Wednesday as worries persisted over whether the eurozone would come up with an effective approach to containing the Greek crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 179.79 points (1.61 per cent) to 11,010.90. The broader S&P 500 gave up 24.32 points (2.07 per cent) to 1,151.06, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 55.25 points (2.17 per cent) to 2,491.58. The tumble came after three days of gains that had largely ignored signs of discord in Europe over how to move ahead on the regional crisis as well as a series of poor US economic data. "The market remains sensitive to signs of discord in Europe over measures to contain the debt crisis,'' said Sameer Samana at Wells Fargo Advisors, pointing to debate over whether a planned 20 per cent private-sector writedown of Greek debt should be increased to 50 per cent or more. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. Recommended Coverage Gloom returns over Greece THE Australian share market's brief relief rally looks to be running out of steam, with the index climbing only marginally yesterday. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. "Key votes take place tomorrow and Friday in Germany to expand the role of the European bank bailout fund,'' Samana said. "Signs of progress on the eurozone debt crisis prompted healthy gains on Monday and Tuesday, but traders opted to take some profits off the table ahead of a German vote regarding the proposed expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility,'' said Elizabeth Harrow at Schaeffer's Investment Research. Germany's parliament on Thursday will weigh the July 21 rescue package agreed by European Union leaders which includes a new Greek bailout and an expansion of the eurozone rescue fund. All 30 Dow blue chips fell, with Bank of America taking a 4.9 per cent hit after a New York Times report said it is facing a $US50 billion ($A50.67 billion) shareholder lawsuit related to its takeover of Merrill Lynch. Shares of industrial power 3M lost 3.5 per cent. Shares of online retail giant Amazon were up 2.5 per cent as the company unveiled $US199 tablet computer, aimed at competing with Apple's successful iPad. Apple shares dropped 0.6 per cent. The bond market rose slightly. The 10-year Treasury bond yield was at 2.00 per cent compared to 2.00 per cent late Tuesday, while the 30-year yield fell to 3.09 per cent from 3.12 per cent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.