NEW YORK (September 25, 2012)--Stocks hit their highs for the day in the first 90 minutes of trading Tuesday and then drifted lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day down 101 points at 13,457.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15 points to close at 1,442, the worst percentage decline for the S&P since June 25.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 43 points to end the day at 3,117.

Among the worries for investors was the financial crisis in Spain where protesters were clashing with police near Parliament, and the nation's borrowing costs increased in an auction of its debt.

Declining stocks beat advancers by about 3-to-1 and volume was heavier than average, 3.6 billion shares.