Stocks slide on signs of jitters at European banks

Stocks slide on signs of jitters at European banks

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling in midday trading after Europe’s central bank reported that its overnight deposits hit another record, the latest indication of worry among European lenders.

The European Central Bank said the continent’s banks parked a record $590.72 billion overnight. That means the banks are unwilling take the risk of lending to each other in the short term, opting to earn low interest rates from the ECB instead.

That news overshadowed two successful auctions of Italian government debt. Italy was able to pay much lower borrowing rates than it did in auctions last month.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 132 points to 12,158 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 was down 15 points at 1,250. The Nasdaq composite declined 30 points at 2,594.