Dow Tumbles on Lackluster Earnings

Stocks plummeted Tuesday on dim earnings from top companies and on credit downgrades in Spain. The Dow Jones lost more than 200 points as DuPont stock tanked on its lower-than-expected profits and its announced job cuts and as other companies like 3M and United Technologies slashed their forecasts. The index closed for the day down 243 points or 1.8 percent at 13,102. Making matters worse was a slip in Spanish bond prices, following Moody's downgrade of five of its regions. Those regional downgrades, which included the crucial Catalonia with its economic hub Barcelona, came a week after Moody's opted not to downgrade the country's sovereign debt rating below the lowest investment-grade level, Bloomberg News reported. Meanwhile investor hopes focused on Apple, which unveiled a smaller iPad Tuesday, and on the the Fed's policy committee, which began its two-day interest rate-setting meeting Tuesday.

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