NEW YORK - May 18, 2010 - Investors uneasy about the news coming out of Europe Tuesday went back to selling stocks sharply lower. The falling euro and news that German regulators plan to limit some kinds of short selling fed the drop.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down almost 115 points after giving up an early gain of 93. The Dow and broader indexes lost more than 1%.

The euro gave stocks a boost early in the day when European Union countries sent bailout money to Greece. The move raised confidence about Europe's ability to prevent its debt crisis from spreading to other economies including the U.S.

By afternoon, though, the upbeat mood faded and the euro fell. That sapped the stock market's strength. Treasury prices rose after demand for safer investments increased.

The euro, the currency shared by 16 European nations, has been driving stock trading for weeks as investors interpreted its slide as a sign of continuing economic problems in Europe. It hit a new four-year low of $1.2160 on Tuesday.