Concerns about the strength of Italy’s economy moved to the forefront in late afternoon, amid trader jitters about the demand for Italy’s bonds ahead of its auction. In addition to US markets losing ground, European markets also faltered in the afternoon as the Stoxx Europe fell -0.4%, after initially being up 0.4%.

Another reason for the market concern has been Greece. With their elections on Sunday, many investors are watching the Greek election very closely and expect the outcome to have a heavy influence on the market.

Crude-oil futures fell 1.2% to $82.35 a barrel, while gold futures rose 0.3% to $1618 an ounce. The U.S. dollar lost ground against the euro and the yen.

In equity news, Dell led the S&P, rising 2.3% after the computer company announced that they plan on paying quarterly dividends of $0.08 per share. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also gained as the health provider closed its $19.7 billion bid for Synthes medical. Finally, Facebook (FB), mirroring the market, lost -0.47% after spending much of the day in the green.

Thomas Doherty is majoring in Finance and Economics at Villanova University. Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com