U.S. stocks drop; BofA and other big banks fall hard

The stock market took a late afternoon fall after European finance ministers failed to come up with the full amount of money pledged for a bailout fund.

Banks led the way down. Morgan Stanley dropped more than 5% and Bank of America Corp. sank 4%, the biggest fall in the Dow Jones Industrial average.

The Dow lost 100 points, or 0.8% to close at 11,766.

The S&P 500 index fell 14 points, or 1.2%, to 1,205. The Nasdaq composite index fell 32 points, or 1.3%, to 2,523.

Cautious comments from the head of the European Central Bank also helped push stocks lower.

Nearly four stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was very light at 3.5 billion.