Stocks take it on the chin, again
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Stocks skidded Tuesday, with the Dow industrials losing as much as 300 points, amid renewed fears of a eurozone debt crisis and concerns about the global economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 218 points, or 1.8%, at midday. The SP 500 (SPX) fell 21 points, or 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) sank 38 points, or 1.5%.
U.S. financial markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. But stocks in Europe plunged amid deepening fears Italy and other large eurozone nations are now falling victim to the debt problems that have plagued Greece for well over a year.
On Tuesday, European markets ended mixed after the Swiss National Bank moved to stabilize the nation’s currency. In an effort to halt its meteoric rise, the bank set a minimum exchange rate at 1.20 Swiss francs per euro.
In addition to Europe, investors were also concerned about the outlook for the U.S. economy.
The Labor Department said Friday that the nation’s employers added zero jobs to their payrolls in August. The report renewed fears that the United States may be headed into another recession.
Risk of recession just got worse
“We’ve got troubles on both sides of the pond and it’s hard for investors to get excited about stocks with so much uncertainty,” said Art Hogan, managing director at Lazard Capital Markets.
Hogan said investors are looking for more clarity on how much it will cost to resolve the debt problems in Europe and stimulate economic growth in the United States.
President Obama will outline steps to boost hiring Thursday in a highly anticipated speech to Congress. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will discuss the nation’s economic outlook Thursday at an event in Minnesota.
In the meantime, investors were flocking to assets that are seen as safe havens.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to a record low level of 1.91% from 2% late Friday.
Despite the bearish tone Tuesday, market analysts said shares of some companies are trading at bargain prices compared with potential earnings.
“This is really a stock pickers’ market right now,” said Anthony Conroy, head trader at BNY ConvergEx Group. “There are some tremendous opportunities to make long-term investments.”
Companies: Shares of major U.S. banks were among the weakest performers.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) fell 3.4% after reports surfaced that the bank could cut 30,000 workers over several years.
On Friday, the federal agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions. The lawsuits cited Bank of America, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500); and were filed in an attempt to recover billions of dollars in losses from risky mortgage investments.
“The financials are leading the way down,” said Conroy. That’s troubling, he said, because “you can’t have a healthy economy without healthy financial institutions.”
However, the selling was broad. All but one of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average were lower at midday. Hewlett Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) was down 5.5%, while Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) managed to hold modest gains.
Economy: The Institute for Supply Management’s services report for August came in at 53.3, up from July’s reading of 52.7 and well above economists’ forecasts of 51. Any reading above 50 signifies expansion.
Brace for profit forecasts to be reeled in
World markets: After a painful selloff on Monday, stocks in Europe closed mixed Tuesday.
The DAX (DAX) in Germany and France’s CAC (CAC) 40 both lost 1%. But Britain’s FTSE (FTSE) 100 rose 1%.
Asian markets also ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) slipped 0.3% and Japan’s Nikkei (N225) fell 2.2%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong (HSI) rose 0.5%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, British pound and the Japanese yen.
The dollar jumped 9% versus the Swiss franc following the announcement from the SNB.
Oil for October delivery tumbled $2.06 to $84.39 a barrel.
Gold prices surged to an intraday record earlier Tuesday of $1,923.70 an ounce. But the precious metal retreated later in the day, rising $2.30 to $1,879.20 an ounce. 
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