Stocks fall as fiscal cliff looms

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Stocks opened higher Thursday, one day after the Dow dropped more than 300 points Wednesday.

The drop happened the day after the re-election of President Obama, but several other factors were at play.

Tim Suffish, a Portfolio Manager at St. Germain Investment Management in Springfield, says the economic crisis in Europe and the so-called fiscal cliff set to take effect in January of 2013 are making investors uncertain about the future.

"There's been a noticeable deterioration in Germany and that's been the linchpin holding the European economy together.  If Europe struggles, the businesses that export to Europe will struggle as well and that will trickle down to lower profits, lower sales, employment here is not going to get better for companies that export to Europe, " warned Suffish. 

A series of tax increases and spending cuts set to automatically go into effect at the start of next year also impacted the Dow.

"The fiscal cliff would hit us pretty hard.  It would be higher taxes and lower spending at a time when we don't need that.  We're still trying to get the economy going faster," said Suffish.

Lawmakers are expected to meet and talk about how to avoid the cuts in the coming weeks.