European Union ministers Tuesday rejected the proposals by private Greek debt holders of a 65 to 70 percent write-down of the country’s debt, Xinhua reported.  The news added to concerns about the European debt crisis.

Meanwhile, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the organization needed an additional $500 billion to help resolve the European debt crisis. However, the source of the money remained unclear. At the close of trading Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 33.07 points or 0.26% at 12,675.75.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 2.47 pointsd or 0.09% at 2,786.64.  The Standard Poor’s 500 was down 1.35 points or 0.10% at 1,314.65.  On the earnings front, US chemical company Dupont reported better-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter last year, but its revenue missed expectations.

Meanwhile, investors are paying close attention to the Federal Reserve’s two-day monthly monetary meeting, beginning Tuesday. Investors expect the Fed to keep its monetary policy unchanged at this meeting.  The U.S. dollar was slightly stronger against most currencies although the British pound edged higher.

Around the New York close Tuesday the euro was a fraction lower at 1.3024.  The Japanese yen dropped sharply (by more than a yen) to 77.72.  Sterling was higher at 1.5610, while the Swiss franc sagged to 0.9284. The Australian dollar fell below the crucial 1.05 level to 1.0485. The Canadian dollar edged down to 1.0094. The New Zealand dollar remained in demand despite being down a few basis points at 0.8111.