Investing.com - U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday, amid renewed concerns that Greece and its private bondholders will not meet the deadline to complete a debt swap and ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.08%, the S&P 500 index declined 1.11%, while the Nasdaq Composite index slumped 1.03%.
Investors remained jittery ahead of the March 8 deadline for Greece’s private creditors to sign on to a EUR106 billion debt swap deal, a requirement for Athens to tap a recently approved EUR130 billion bailout fund.
Sentiment was also hit earlier after Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations, while annualized GDP contracted at a rate of 0.7%.
The data fuelled concerns over the outlook for global growth, coming one day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government will target expansion of 7.5% in 2012, the lowest GDP target in eight years.
Financial stocks led losses as Goldman Sachs plummeted 3.43% and Bank of America tumbled 3.01%, while Citigroup and JP Morgan declined 3% and 1.91%.
In the tech sector, Apple shares plunged 2.42% even after Barclays raised its target price on the iPad maker to USD710 from USD630.
Google and Yahoo also saw shares slip 1.27% and 0.14%, although Nomura started coverage of the Internet companies with "buy" and "neutral" ratings and price targets of USD750 and USD13.50 respectively.
Yahoo was also affected by reports that its new chief executive was preparing a significant restructuring that would include thousands of layoffs.
Adding to losses, Skullcandy sank 9.58% after the headphone maker said CFO Mitch Edwards has resigned.
Elsewhere, energy stocks were broadly lower as shares in Exxon Mobil declined 0.88% and Chevron retreated 0.83%, while Chesapeake Energy Corp saw shares plunge 2.23%.
Private equity group KKR & Co and Chesapeake Energy Corp, the second-largest U.S. producer of natural gas, said they will form a partnership to invest in mineral and royalty interests in oil and gas assets in the United States and will initially pump in USD250 million.
Other stocks in focus included internet radio company Pandora, scheduled to post earnings after-the-bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 2.37%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.46%, Germany's DAX tumbled 2.45%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.54%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.65%.
The U.S. was also preparing for the Super Tuesday primaries later in the day, in which voters in 10 U.S. states are to choose a Republican presidential candidate.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.08%, the S&P 500 index declined 1.11%, while the Nasdaq Composite index slumped 1.03%.
Investors remained jittery ahead of the March 8 deadline for Greece’s private creditors to sign on to a EUR106 billion debt swap deal, a requirement for Athens to tap a recently approved EUR130 billion bailout fund.
Sentiment was also hit earlier after Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations, while annualized GDP contracted at a rate of 0.7%.
The data fuelled concerns over the outlook for global growth, coming one day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government will target expansion of 7.5% in 2012, the lowest GDP target in eight years.
Financial stocks led losses as Goldman Sachs plummeted 3.43% and Bank of America tumbled 3.01%, while Citigroup and JP Morgan declined 3% and 1.91%.
In the tech sector, Apple shares plunged 2.42% even after Barclays raised its target price on the iPad maker to USD710 from USD630.
Google and Yahoo also saw shares slip 1.27% and 0.14%, although Nomura started coverage of the Internet companies with "buy" and "neutral" ratings and price targets of USD750 and USD13.50 respectively.
Yahoo was also affected by reports that its new chief executive was preparing a significant restructuring that would include thousands of layoffs.
Adding to losses, Skullcandy sank 9.58% after the headphone maker said CFO Mitch Edwards has resigned.
Elsewhere, energy stocks were broadly lower as shares in Exxon Mobil declined 0.88% and Chevron retreated 0.83%, while Chesapeake Energy Corp saw shares plunge 2.23%.
Private equity group KKR & Co and Chesapeake Energy Corp, the second-largest U.S. producer of natural gas, said they will form a partnership to invest in mineral and royalty interests in oil and gas assets in the United States and will initially pump in USD250 million.
Other stocks in focus included internet radio company Pandora, scheduled to post earnings after-the-bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 2.37%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.46%, Germany's DAX tumbled 2.45%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.54%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.65%.
The U.S. was also preparing for the Super Tuesday primaries later in the day, in which voters in 10 U.S. states are to choose a Republican presidential candidate.