Dow drops again on grim U.S., Europe news

A parade of grim news, from weak corporate earnings to a pullback at U.S. factories to spreading fault lines in Europe's debt crisis, sent investors fleeing stocks for a third straight day.

The Dow Jones industrial average Tuesday fell 104.14 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,617.32. It was the third triple-digit point loss in a row for the blue chip index. The last time that happened was September, when fears were rife that the United States was on the brink of another recession.

Lower earnings forecasts from corporate bellwethers like United Parcel Service, combined with a weak report on manufacturing, fed fears of more disappointing results from corporate America in the coming days.

"Our guess is we haven't seen the worst," said Carl Yingst, chief market analyst at Joseph Gunner, an investment bank.

Soon after he spoke came a bit of confirmation from a stock market star. After the close of trading, Apple reported the smallest increases in revenue and income in years, badly missing analysts' expectations. The stock fell $30.93, or 5.19 percent, to $569.75 in extended trading.

It was a fitting end to a bad day as investors around the world dumped stocks and fled to the relative safety of U.S. government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to another record low, and the dollar hit a two-year high against the euro.

Stocks fell from the start of trading following news that UPS had cut its earnings forecast 4 percent for all of 2012 as global trade slows. UPS' stock fell $3.61, or 4.63 percent, to $74.34.

Also weighing on stocks, Spain's borrowing costs spiked as investors worried that country could become the latest in Europe to ask for a financial lifeline. Spain's banks have already received help from international lenders.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.90 percent to 1,338.31. The Nasdaq composite was off 0.94 percent to 2,862.99.