US stocks fell on Tuesday on worry about the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, which was underscored by another brokerage slashing its earnings outlook for Wall Street banks. In a sign of growing unease about the credit squeeze, the Bank of Canada on Tuesday cut its key overnight interest rate by one-quarter point, which had investors on the lookout for what other central banks may do.
American International Group Inc, the world's largest insurer by market value, led decliners in both the Dow and the S&P 500, with a drop of more than 2 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 22.11 points, or 0.17 percent, at 13,292.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.55 points, or 0.31 percent, at 1,467.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.13 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,631.00. AIG shares dropped 2.2 percent to $55.64 on the New York Stock Exchange.