NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are sliding at the opening of trading, following global markets lower after Spain requested help for its struggling banks.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 145 points to 12,497 shortly after the opening bell Monday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 18 points to 1,317 and the Nasdaq composite lost 40 points to 2,853.
Spain isn't saying how much of the 100 billion euros made available by the European Union that it will need. The request comes just ahead of a critical European economic summit in Brussels.
Investors have been losing faith that Europe will act quickly to address the financial problems at countries most at risk.
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European markets are sharply lower. Stocks are down 3 percent in Spain and Italy.
