Stocks Snap Win Streak As Oil Rally Fizzles -- U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks saw a five-day win streak come to an abrupt end Tuesday, with the major averages racing lower along with crude oil prices this afternoon.

The Dow Industrials dropped 110.70 points, or 0.7%, to 16,963.42. The Nasdaq Composite slid 59.43 points, or 1.3%, to 4,648.82. The S&P 500 shed 22.42 points, or 1.1%, to 1,979.31.

Energy stocks tumbled as April WTI crude oil dropped $1.40, or 3.7%, to settle at $36.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Chevron, Encana and Chesapeake were among the big losers in the oil patch.

Lumber Liquidators plunged 15% after hedge-fund manager Whitney Tilson bet against the company. Tilson said there was a 50/50 chance of LL going bankrupt.

Overseas weakness spilled over into Wall Street today, as disappointing trade data from China stirred lingering fears of a global economic slowdown.

China's exports plunged in February, largely reflecting the shift in the timing of Chinese New Year, official data revealed Tuesday.

Exports tumbled 25.4 percent year-on-year in February, the biggest fall since May 2009, the General Administration of Customs reported. Economists had forecast a 15 percent drop, following the 11.2 percent decline in January.

Looking overseas, Asian stocks mostly succumbed to selling pressure. The Chinese market was able to recover from an early decline to post a slight gain on the day. However, Japan's Nikkei average dropped 128.17 points or 0.76 percent to 16,783.15.