Around 1545 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 69.14 points (0.56 percent) at 12,222.21. The broader S&P 500 slipped 8.88 (0.70 percent) to 1,256.55, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 20.49 (0.78 percent) to 2,604.71. Markets did not get a boost from Italy's pulling off an auction Wednesday of 9.0 billion euros ($11.8 billion) in six-month bonds at low rates. The average rate on the debt was 3.25 percent, half the 6.50 percent paid in a similar operation in November, when worries that Italian finances might collapse filled the markets. But news that eurozone banks deposited a record amount of overnight funds at the European Central Bank on Tuesday showed there were still deep tensions in the single-currency zone. Also hovering in the air was the warning Tuesday by Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimithat "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if the West broadened sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Most of the Dow blue chips were in the red, led by bank of America, down 2.4 percent, and Cisco, down 1.5 percent. Blackberry maker Research in Motion dropped 3.0 percent, while Amazon slipped 1.4 percent despite reports of solid holiday online sales. Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.98 percent from 2.01 percent on Tuesday, while the 30-year yield was at 3.00, don from 3.04 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.