Stocks fell for a third day and hit their lowest level in two weeks on Wednesday as widespread risk aversion sent commodity prices tumbling, drove the euro to its lowest in a year and forced Italy to pay a euro-era high to sell debt.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 131.39 points, or 1.10 percent, to end unofficially at 11,823.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 13.91 points, or 1.13 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,211.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 39.96 points, or 1.55 percent, to close unofficially at 2,539.31.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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