Shares on Wall Street fell Tuesday as concerns about public sector finances in Europe escalated, raising questions about the possibility that the debt crisis could stall a recovery.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 200.57 points or 1.9 percent; the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index declined 1.9 percent; and the Nasdaq dropped 2 percent.
In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone blue chips fell 2.7 percent, led lower by the Spanish bank, Santander, which fell 3.9 percent. The FTSE 100 index in London fell 2.5 percent. Most major markets across Europe were down at least 2 percent, with the main Spanish and Italian indexes down about 4 percent at one point.
As investors had feared for months, the uncertainty over the sovereign debt crisis exacerbated concerns about the health of the global economy.
Full story: Wall Street Tumbles and Euro Weakens – NYTimes.com