There were few safe landings spots for U.S. investors Tuesday as the latest sovereign credit woes in Europe and concerns that China could move to slow its breakneck economic growth slammed stocks and nearly every other asset class.
The 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average was almost entirely in the red, dipping below 11,000 before finishing the day with a loss of 178 points at 11,024. Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) and Home Depot ( HD - news - people ), a pair of retailers that issued better-than-expected earnings Tuesday, were the lone holdouts, adding 0.6% and 1%, respectively. The S&P 500 lost 19 points to 1,178 and the Nasdaq 44 points to 2,470 as all three indexes fell at least 1.6%.
Commodities were no safe haven Tuesday, with oil down near $82 a barrel and gold falling to less than $1,340 an ounce. The slide came amid speculation that China could move to keep inflation in check and slow the growth that many developed economies like the U.S. are drawing support. Commodity-centric stocks were reeling with Alcoa ( AA - news - people ), down 2.8%, and Exxon Mobil ( XOM - news - people ), off 2.2%, among the Dow's biggest losers.
The dollar strengthened against the euro, which fell to $1.3488 from more than $1.40 just over a week ago, as European finance ministers mull a bailout for Ireland similar to the one granted to Greece.
(source:forbes.com)
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