Global Unrest Puts Stocks in a Dive

Global Unrest Puts Stocks in a Dive

By KRISTINA PETERSON

NEW YORK—The stock market plummeted Tuesday in its biggest drop of cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 year as escalating tensions in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 Middle East and North Africa sent oil prices soaring.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 178.46 points, or 1.4%, to 12212.79, its biggest point and percentage drop since Nov. 16.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 27.57, or 2.1%, to 1315.44, cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 measure's biggest point and percentage drop since Aug. 11, 2010.

Oil Prices Spiked and Stocks Tumbled on concerns about Libya, after that nation closed its ports blocking oil exports. Paul Vigna has details. Plus, Gadhafi speaks and how cell phone usage affects your brain.

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Brent rose and U.S. crude oil reached a 2-1/2 year high on concerns cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 revolt in Libya could spread to ocá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365r major oil producers as companies suspended operations and ports were disrupted. Video courtesy of Reuters.
.Wal-Mart Stores weighed on cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 Dow, sliding $1.71, or 3.1%, to $53.67, after cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 retailer's fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 27%, capitalizing on strength in its international business, but its U.S. operations continued to struggle. Wal-Mart posted its seventh consecutive quarter of lower U.S. same-store sales, and fourth-quarter revenue fell short of analysts' expectations.

Bank of America fell 57 cents, or 3.9%, to 14.18, after saying its credit-card subsidiary was restating eight quarters of reports to regulators because it took a $20.3 billion write-down because of deteriorating credit and new regulations over cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 past two years. Alcoa was also weak, tumbling 74 cents, or 4.3%, to 16.54.

Energy components were among cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 measure's few stocks to gain Tuesday, as oil prices surged. Chevron gained 1.60, or 1.6%, to 100.32, while Exxon Mobil rose 94 cents, or 1.1%, to 85.44.

The Nasdaq Composite sank 77.53 points, or 2.7% to 2756.42.

Global stock markets tumbled Tuesday as violence increased in Libya, a major oil-producing state. Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi publicly defied protesters seeking to end his rule, vowing to remain in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 country "until cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 end" in a televised speech that showed his determination to cling to power Tuesday, as reinforcements of loyal armed military units tightened cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365ir hold around cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 capital. Libyan traders said cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 country had shut all ports, which would reopen in two to three days.

U.S. markets had been closed Monday for cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 Presidents Day holiday. Crude-oil prices jumped as unease over cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 turmoil in Libya and parts of cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 Middle East mounted. Libya produces 1.8 million barrels of oil daily, and its 41 billion barrels of proven reserves represent more than 3% of global supplies. Nymex oil prices for March delivery surged 8.6% over Friday's close, adding $7.37 a barrel in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 biggest one-day dollar gain in more than two years.

.Investors said cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 stock market had been ready for a correction, as major stock indexes had climbed steadily to reach 2½-year highs on Friday. The geopolitical tensions in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 Middle East and North Africa gave nervous traders reason to retreat, said Liz Miller, president of Summit Place Financial Advisors.

"The unrest in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 Middle East has ended up to be that trigger, but any number of things could've been that trigger," she said. She cautioned that, if oil prices do remain elevated, "that's a real concern in an economy that seemed to be gaining some strength."

But Tuesday's tumble came as a relief to some participants unnerved by cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 market's recent unrelenting climb, even in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 face of earlier unrest in Egypt.

"When cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 market starts shrugging off geopolitical issues and ignoring it completely, it's cause for concern," said Jennifer Ellison, principal at Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough. "It's a positive that we're getting some sort of reality check in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 market here."

Asian markets suffered sharp losses, also hurt by a major earthquake in New Zealand and a move by Moody's Investors Service to cut cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 outlook on Japan's "Aa2" rating to "negative" from "stable."

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Oil Rises 8.6% on Libya Violence
'Fear Gauge' Shows Most Worry in Months
.Demand for Treasurys climbed, sending yield on cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 10-year note down to 3.465%. The dollar strengcá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365ned against cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 euro but weakened against cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 yen. The euro was at $1.3655, down from $1.3675 late Monday.

Volatility jumped, as cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 CBOE Market Volatility Index surged more than 30% at its highest point in cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 day, its biggest one-day climb of cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 year.

Among stocks in focus, Home Depot slipped 39 cents, or 1%, to 38.09, even after cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 home-improvement chain's fourth-quarter profit climbed 72% from year-earlier levels, boosted by heavy demand for snow-removal gear. Home Depot provided 2011 guidance at or above cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 views it gave in December and boosted its dividend by nearly 6% while reiterating its goal to raise cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 payout every year.

Mentor Graphics climbed 95 cents, or 6.5%, to 15.47, after billionaire investor Carl Icahn offered to buy cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 chip-design software company for $1.91 billion.


Reuters

World stocks fell Tuesday as a growing revolt in Libya drove oil prices to 30-month highs.
.Dynegy lost 12 cents, or 2%, to 5.89, after it announced that Chief Executive Bruce Williamson will resign and named David Biegler interim CEO.

Forest Laboratories fell 1.43, or 4.2%, to 32.90, after saying it will buy Clinical Data for at least $898.7 million, as it looks to capitalize on Clinical Data's newly approved Viibryd antidepressant drug. Shares of Clinical Data tumbled 2.69, or 7.9%, to 31.21.

In U.S. economic data, a reading of U.S. consumer confidence hit a three-year high, reaching 70.4 in February, well above cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 66 expected by economists. The S&P Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index fell 2.4% year-over-year, slightly more than cá cược thể thao bet365_cách nạp tiền vào bet365_ đăng ký bet365 2% drop economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond saw mixed economic activity.

Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com