Stocks fell Tuesday as concern over the state of the global economy — China in particular — and a decline in U.S. banks combined to pressure Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 257.13 points to break for lunch Tuesday at 35,050.50
The S&P 500 index flopped 31.86 points to 4,457.86.
The NASDAQ index slumped 83.63 points to 13,704.70.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America were lower by nearly 2%. Those moves come after Fitch warned it may have to downgrade dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase. Last week, Moody's lowered its rating on 10 U.S. while putting some big institutions on downgrade watch.
A packed earnings week for the largest retailers kicked into gear Tuesday. Home Depot reported earnings per share and revenue that beat analyst expectations, pushing its stock 1.7% higher. Later in the week, traders will parse releases from Target and Walmart.
On the data front, July's U.S. retail sales data came in higher than expected, indicating a stronger-than-expected consumer. Retail sales increased 0.7% month-over-month. Meanwhile, economists had estimated a 0.4% increase, according to Dow Jones.
Sentiment across the globe was downbeat after disappointing data out of China and a surprise rate cut from the country's central bank.
Industrial production in China increased by 3.7% in July from the year-earlier period, missing expectations. Retail sales also grew less than expected from the year-earlier period. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China lowered rates by 15 basis points to 2.5%. However, the rate cut failed to soothe investor concerns and instead raised more worry about an emerging property crisis in China.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up slightly, lowering yields to 4.18% from Monday's 4.19%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.90 to $80.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices doffed $5.50 to $1,938.50 U.S. an ounce.