The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) rose as high as 12,764 in early trading this morning before falling below where it started, as investors grew more nervous about Europe. Europe has still not finalized the terms of a second bailout package for Greece, and the EU agreed to ban imports of Iranian crude starting July 1. At 1:30 p.m. EST, the Dow was down 32 points to 12,688.
After the EU announced the import ban, Iran reiterated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. While the embargo will not likely have an effect on world prices, if Iran were to follow through on trying to block the Strait and a conflict arose, oil prices could skyrocket.
Leading the Dow down is Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG). The stock is down 1.87% to $64.99 after Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock from buy to hold after cutting its earnings forecast for the company. Procter & Gamble reports earnings on Friday. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.08 and revenue of $22.2 billion.
Runner-up loser is Travelers (NYSE: TRV), which is down 1.82% to $60.47. The company reports earnings tomorrow. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.52 and revenue of $5.5 billion.
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