U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as concerns increased that regional banks face more write downs after more bad news in the financial sector did little to ease concerns over the state of the slowing economy, while oil futures headed back toward $130 a barrel.

As of 12:12 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.43 points, or 0.36 percent to 12502.84, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.47 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1378.88 and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 14.85 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2466.39.

American International Group Inc. fell 4.4 percent after a Citigroup analyst said the insurance giant may have to raise more capital in addition to the $20 billion garnered last week.

Shares of KeyCorp were also under pressure, down 10 percent, after the regional bank hiked its 2008 outlook for loan losses. KeyCorp was recently down 11.8 percent to $19.36.

In commodities trade, oil futures reversed course after falling to a one-week low earlier on, with light, sweet crude for July delivery gaining 52 cents to $129.39 a barrel.

Gasoline prices edged up less than a penny, but stayed at the record level of $3.94 a gallon on average in the last week, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report from AAA.

Meanwhile, the market reacted positively to a government report that revealed durable goods orders fell by less than Wall Street had been bracing for.

Orders for durable goods dropped by 0.5 percent in April. Economists had been expecting a larger 1.5 percent fall for last month.

Shares of KeyCorp were also under pressure, down 10 percent, after the regional bank hiked its 2008 outlook for loan losses.

UPS made a deal with rival DHL and will soon be carrying its air shipments, in a deal that is similar to a deal UPS has with the U.S. Postal Service. The world's largest shipping carrier said it is talking to DHL about finalizing such a deal, which would up its revenue by about $1 billion a year and last for up to a decade.

New york city Aig