Stocks in the United States fell sharply Tuesday, following a broad sell-off in Europe and Asia that was fueled by concerns over the pace of growth in the global economy. Stocks in Shanghai set off the decline after the Conference Board, a private research group, said it had recalculated its leading economic index for China to show a 0.3 percent gain in April, down from the 1.7 percent gain it reported two weeks ago. Trade in European markets followed and turned lower, and then the contagion of declines spread to the United States, where the Dow dipped below the 10,000 level soon after the opening bell. In afternoon trading, the Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone blue chips fell 2.9 percent, while the FTSE 100 index in London fell 2.2 percent. “It’s a continuation of what we’ve been seeing for months,” Gary Baker, an equity strategist at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch in London, said. “There’s re-evaluation of global growth prospects going on. Will 2011 turn out weaker than 2010?” In early trading in the United States, the Dow was down 218.56, or 2.1 percent, at 9,919.96. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost 25.39 points, or 2.3 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 64.34 points, or 2.9 percent. Quincy Krosby, a chief market strategist for Prudential Financial, portrayed a series of events that led to the chain reaction of sell-offs. There were concerns over growth in China; higher unemployment figures in Japan; worries over banks in Europe; and strikes in Greece and Spain. “You also started seeing yields on U.S. Treasuries go down, again a sign that the market is worried about growth,” said Ms. Krosby. “This was almost a textbook example of what can go on in the market.” “This is against the backdrop that 3M, a global company, is coming out with positive numbers and a positive solid report,” she said. The company said its second quarter earnings were “very strong” and that strength in Asian and Latin American markets would offset a slowdown in Europe. With stocks in distress, investors fled to the perceived safety of major developed-country bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.97 percent. It was the first time since April 2009 that they have fallen below 3 percent. “I think it all goes back to this deflation trend that seems to be taking place,” said Tom di Galoma, the United States head of fixed-income rates trading at Guggenheim Partners. “The Fed is on hold and you are starting to see investors panic on interest rates, thinking they don’t have enough bonds in their portfolio.” “The economic slowdown has created this deflationary environment and they don’t see how to get out of it,” he said. Economic reports released in the United States provided no reprieve. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 52.9, a nearly 10 point decline. The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index showed a 0.8 percent gain in April, but the increase was fed by a tax credit that expired at the end of April and there were few other signs of a sustained recovery in the housing market. Industrial stocks were off nearly 4 percent in the United States market. Technology, and consumer discretionary and materials stocks were all lower by 3 percent. European financial shares were off 2.4 percent on the broad Stoxx 600 index, led by Santander, the Spanish bank, which fell 3.9 percent. Basic materials stocks fell 3.3 percent and industrials fell 2.5 percent. BP, the oil company whose shares have fallen more than 50 percent since the April 20 explosion of its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, fell 2 percent. The company is facing a class-action lawsuit over losses in its employee savings plan tied to the destruction of share value since the disaster. Asian shares declined as the Shanghai composite index lost 4.3 percent to its lowest since April 2009. The mainland’s biggest stock market foundered after the Conference Board released its revision. Mr. Baker said that in the thinning summer trade, the weaker Chinese data had been enough to set off the selling. Chinese investors were also awaiting an initial public offering from Agricultural Bank of China that is expected to raise about $23 billion, a market splash some feared would draw money from other issues as fund managers rebalance their portfolios to include the new entrant. The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 1.3 percent, and the main Sydney market index, the S&P/ASX 200, fell 0.9 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 2.3 percent. The dollar gained against major European currencies, with the euro falling to $1.2190 from $1.2277 late Monday, and the British pound falling to $1.5022 from $1.5104. But the United States currency declined against its Japanese counterpart, dropping to 88.75 yen from 89.37 yen — its lowest level since early March. “ Crude oil futures for August delivery fell $1.40 to $76.85 a barrel. Comex gold fell $2.10 to $1,236.50 an ounce.

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