The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 74.39 points (0.61 percent) to 12,079.29 in closing trade. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 11.90 points (0.94 percent) to 1,251.95, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 21.59 points (0.81 percent) to 2,657.16. Investors digested news that Italy continued to pay high rates to borrow a day after economist Mario Monti was name to succeed Silvio Berlusconi as Italy's prime minister. Greece's new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, faced the task of implementing security measures needed to secure the next installment of an international bailout loan. "The uneasiness across the pond comes on a changing political landscape in the eurozone, a mixed debt auction in Italy, and a lackluster read on euro-area industrial production," Charles Schwab analysts said.