Stocks fall on thin volume, oil eases

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday as thin trading volumes discouraged investors from resuming last week's rally while oil prices eased after Iran's threat to close the Gulf was written off as rhetoric. A strong sale of short-term Italian debt brought some relief to European markets, giving a temporary boost to the euro. Investors remained cautious, however, before a much bigger sale of longer-term bonds by Italy on Thursday. Key U.S. stock indexes fell, including a 1 percent decline by Nasdaq, as investors awaited the beginning of 2012 to make any big bets. ...