MW: U.S. stocks decline sharply as global worries mount
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday, with the S&P 500 Index poised for its lowest finish this year, as U.S. consumer confidence fell more than anticipated in June, adding to worries about a global slowdown.
"This is all part of the global economy we're worried about, there just isn't enough growth around to generate jobs," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank.
After falling nearly 300 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 9,901, -237.38, -2.34%) pared losses, down 220.38 points, or 2.2%, to 9,918.14, with all 30 of its components in the red. Boeing Co. (BA 63.59, -3.71, -5.52%) paced the slide, off 5.3%.
The S&P 500 (SPX 1,047, -27.75, -2.58%) shed 25.42 points, or 2.3%, to 1,049.15, with industrials the hardest hit of its 10 industry sectors.
The S&P 500 finished at 1,050.47 on June 7, its lowest close in 2010.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP 2,156, -64.78, -2.92%) declined 59.44 points, or 2.7%, to 2,161.21.
For every stock that rose, more than 11 fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 449 million shares traded as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern.
Wall Street on Tuesday contended "with a one-two punch," according to Ablin, who attributed the lower start to China's slowing growth. Read about cut in outlook for China.
Then consumer confidence "came in woefully low," said Ablin, who added that the expectations portion of the data, viewed as a good leading indicator of retail sales, proved particularly dismal.
Already down sharply, the major indexes fell farther after the Conference Board's confidence index dropped to 52.9 in June from a revised 62.7 the month before. Read more about consumer confidence.
Earlier the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed home prices in 20 U.S. cities rising in April, with the jump mostly attributed to a tax credit. Read more about the housing data.
"Case-Shiller is like yesterday-year data," said Ablin in discounting its significance to investors.
The downbeat sentiment had investors flocking to government debt, with yields on the two-year Treasury note falling to record lows. Read more about Treasurys.
Europe's common currency also fell, with labor strikes in Greece and Spain illustrating discontent with the continent's austerity measures.
"Credit default swaps spreads in Greece and Spain have leapt forward to all-time highs as the market is predicting that neither of these countries will be very successful in their austerity measures or cutting their debt enough without some additional aid," said Kevin Giddis, president of fixed income capital markets at Morgan Keegan.
