U.S. stock indexes close in red

U.S. stock indexes slipped into the red at midday Tuesday and stayed there during afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 58.88 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 12,446.68. The Nasdaq finished at 2,781.91, off 20.71 points, or 0.74 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 dipped 5.85 points, or 0.44 percent, to finish at 1,313.64. Investors were keeping an eye on Europe and its own economic crisis threatening to spread from Greece to countries such as Italy and Spain. Domestically, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said the U.S. trade gap for goods and services grew by $50 billion in May. Even reports that the Federal Reserve may consider -- but didn't commit -- to stimulus action to goose the sluggish U.S. economy didn't help. The listed volume on the NYSE was 3.47 billion shares. The 10-year treasury note was 2.8880 percent. The euro fell to $1.3976 from Monday's $1.4047. Against the yen, the dollar was 79.4100 yen from Monday's 80.2850 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei Average finished trading at 9,926.54, down 144.99 points. In London, the FTSE closed at 5,868.96, off 60.20.