Stocks plunged Tuesday, with the Dow industrials dropping as much as 326 points and the Standard & Poor's 500 index hitting an 8-month low, after a big decline in U.S. consumer confidence and signs of a bigger slowdown in the global economy. Investors pushed money into the safety of government debt, sending the 10-year note yield below 3 percent for the first time in 14 months. Stocks fell at the opening on global worries, but the selling accelerated after the release of the U.S. consumer-confidence index, which tumbled nearly 10 points to 52.9 in June from 62.7 the previous month. The drop reflected concerns about the labor market, particularly a recent slowdown in jobs growth. June's decline was far bigger than economists had expected. In other U.S. economic news, home prices rose 0.8 percent in April, and were 3.8 percent above prices a year ago, but prices are still 30 percent below their mid-2006 peak. April's gain was the first in seven months, but because it was fueled by an expiring tax credit, analysts expect home prices to decline in next month's report. The U.S. dollar gained 0.7 percent versus the euro-which tumbled on European debt worries-and fell 1.1 percent versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for August delivery fell $2.70 to $75.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold rose $4.40 to $1,243 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 268.22, or 2.65 percent, to 9,870.30. All 30 of the index's components fell, led by United Technologies, IBM, Chevron, Caterpillar, and Boeing. Financial shares also struggled, with J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America each losing at least 4 percent. The broader S&P 500 index fell 33.33, or 3.1 percent, to 1,041.24, its lowest point since last November. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 85.47, or 3.85 percent, to 2,135.18. Electric carmaker Tesla Motors debuted on the Nasdaq, rising 12 percent from its initial public offering (IPO) price late Monday and raising $226 million in cash for the company that has yet to make a profit.
