Stocks Finish With Mild Losses

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks fell for the fourth straight session Wednesday as nagging worries about the political disarray in Greece and its future within the eurozone continued to weigh on sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 12,598. The blue-chip index ran as high as 12,722 early in the session and closed just above its low for the day of 12,597.

Sharper-than-expected increases in housing and industrial production data had inspired buyers earlier in the session but the market lost steam in the afternoon, similar to the pattern on Tuesday when stocks saw a steady decline in the final hour of trading. The Dow has now closed in the negative for 10 of the past 11 sessions.

The S&P 500 dipped nearly 6 points or 0.4% to close at 1325 after peaking above 1341 earlier in the day. The Nasdaq shed nearly 20 points, or 0.7%, to settle at 2874.

"Most of the news about Europe is already out, although that doesn't mean anxieties won't weigh on the markets," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist for Cetera Financial Group.

Adding to the negative sentiment late Wednesday, minutes of the Federal Reserve's monthly policy meeting also flagged fiscal concerns for the United States, as the central bank warned of sharp fiscal tightening in 2013 unless Congress reaches an agreement on the federal budget.