“U.S. stocks fell sharply Tuesday, with the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq extending losses into a third day, as investors braced for earnings and the International Monetary Fund cut global-growth outlooks,” Kate Gibson reports for MarketWatch. “‘Earnings season is not starting off to be a good one,’ offered Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank… ‘We’re in the sobering up period; last month was so euphoric, the Fed gave us everything we wanted and more, all the problems in Europe were solved, and now it’s the morning after and we realize there are still problems in Europe, and with the IMF report, maybe we’re tilting back towards recession, at least on a global basis,’ said McCain.”

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 100.9 points, or 0.8%, to 13,482.6,” Gibson reports. “Dow component and aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. is slated to release its third-quarter results after the market close,” Gibson reports. “The S&P 500 index fell 11.90 points, or 0.8%, to 1,443.98, with energy the sole sector to remain in positive terrain among its 10 major industries as oil prices jumped on heightened tensions in the Middle East. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for November delivery rallied $3.06 to $92.39 a barrel. The Nasdaq Composite shed 41 points, or 1.3%, to 3,071.35.”

Gibson reports, “Apple Inc. slid into correction mode, meaning it retreated more than 10% from its record $702.10 on Sept. 19, with the smartphone maker falling to as low as $623.55 a share, and lately off 44 cents at $637.73. ‘Tech is weak across the board, and we’re going into an earnings season that is going to be the toughest in three years,’ said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. Intel Corp. lost 2.8% after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded shares of the Dow component and semiconductor maker… ‘People see what’s going on in the real world, and that’s creating some nervousness in the context of a complacent market driven by central bankers, with the thinking we’ll never go down because of all the money they print.’”

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