Dow Heads for Longest Losing Streak Since August

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks were driven lower again Wednesday by persistent worries about the stability of Spain's banking system and Greece's future in the eurozone.

The deepest losses came early in the volatile session but a rebound off the lows that allowed the Nasdaq to briefly break into positive territory ran out of steam. The bounce was fueled by indications that eurozone officials still plan to release Greece's next round of bailout money this week, a move that will alleviate some near-term pressure on the country while its government is still in transition following this weekend's elections.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 97 points, or 0.7%, to close at 12,835, closing in the red for a sixth-straight session, its longest losing streak since August.

The blue-chip index, which ran as low as 12,748 on Wednesday, has now dropped 3.4%, or 444 points, over this negative stretch. Year-to-date, the Dow is still up 5.1%.

The S&P 500 fell 9 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 1355. The index has fallen in five of the past six sessions but remains up 7.7% in 2012. The session low was 1343.

The Nasdaq declined 12 points, or 0.4%, at 2935. As it did on Tuesday, the index started to bounce when it hit 2900. Year-to-date, the Nasdaq has gained 13.7%, but it's pulled back 6.4% since hitting its near-term high of 3134 on March 27.

Breadth within the Dow was negative with 24 of the index's 30 components finishing lower. The biggest percentage losers among the blue chips were Boeing (BA) , General Electric (GE) , JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , McDonald's(MCD) , and United Technologies(UTX) .