New York, NY (BBN)– US stocks fell in a choppy session on Tuesday as news late in the session that Portugal’s debt could be downgraded reignited selling in a high-volume flurry.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 46.47 points or 0.42 percent, to 11,006.02 while the S&P 500 Index fell 7.21 points to 1,180.55, a weekly report said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average & the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) scored their biggest gains in three months on Wednesday as efforts to resolve the EU’s debt crisis helped push the S&P 500 above 1,200, an important technical resistance.

The US stock futures briefly turned negative to end of the week after ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet disappointed investors expecting an increase in its Bond purchase program.

BBN/SI/AD-04Dec10-12:39 pm (BST)