All of that means that "gains will be harder to come by," warned Bob Doll, BlackRock chief equity strategist, in a recent client note. On the bright side, the uptrend will continue, "but at a more challenged pace," he added.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) slipped 25 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) lost 13 points, or 0.5%, and the S&P 500 (SPX) lost 1 point, or 0.1%.
May has been especially rough for the stock market. The Dow and S&P 500 have both lost more than 3%, and the Nasdaq has tumbled 4% since the start of the month.
Rating agencies Standard and Poor's and Fitch have issued pessimistic outlooks for Greece, Italy and Belgium during the last few days.
"Europe's debt problems are like a hurricane off the coast," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. "We know it's coming, and now we want to know how much damage it will ultimately inflict."
On top of that, investors are also preparing for the conclusion of the Fed's bond buying program in June, which some experts say has been the prominent driver in the stock market's gains since Ben Bernanke first mentioned it last August.
The dollar slid against the euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen
Gold futures for June delivery rose $7.90 to $1,523.30 an ounce.
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