Stocks slip on concerns Euro crisis will spread

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are down sharply in early trading as concerns grow that the European financial crisis will spread.

Ireland requested financial assistance Sunday from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

It is the second time that the EU has come to the rescue of one of the 16 countries that use the euro. Traders worry that Portugal and Spain may also need bailouts in order to repay their debts, which would could cause the value of the euro to fall.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 65, or 0.6 percent, to 11,139. The S&P 500 is down 7, or 0.6 percent, to 1,193. The Nasdaq composite index is down 11, or 0.5 percent, to 2,507.