U.S. stocks fell

U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index toward its biggest drop in a month, as European leaders sparred with Greece over a rescue program.

European leaders won’t finalize Greece’s second aid program today because talks with banks over debt reduction aren’t completed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos rejected reports of plans to appoint a commissioner, citing “national dignity.” U.S. consumer spending stalled in December, a report today showed.

Dow 12,582.69 -77.77 -0.61%, Nasdaq 2,805.08 -11.47 -0.41%, S&P 500 1,307.56 -8.77 -0.67%

American banks fell as a gauge of European lenders retreated 3.1 percent. Bank of America (ВАС) declined 3 percent to $7.07 after Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation for the shares to “neutral” from “buy.”

Halliburton (HAL) decreased 1.6 percent to $36.49. Alcoa (АА) slipped 1.4 percent to $10.28.

Wendy’s Co. fell 2.2 percent to $5.10. The operator of fast-food restaurants forecast adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2012 of $345 million at most. That compares with the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey of $353.1 million.

Staples Inc. declined 5.6 percent to $15.11. The world’s largest office products company was cut to “sell” from “neutral” by Goldman Sachs, which cited a “tough” outlook for the global printing segment.