Dow skid halts Tuesday near 11,000

Ireland denies an EU bailout will be needed but still does not know the depths of the problem within its banking system. An escalating crisis, meanwhile, "will have a contagion impact on the other eurozone economies," The New York Times quoted Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos as saying.

Stocks fell in Europe following a broad downturn in Asia. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 1.39 percent. In China, the Shanghai composite index lost 3.98 percent.

By close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 178.47 points, or 1.59 percent, to 11,023.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 19.41 points, or 1.62 percent, to 1,178.34. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock lost 1.75 percent, or 43.98 points, to 2,469.84.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 405 stocks advanced and 2,642 declined on a volume of 4.5 billion shares.

The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 1 1/32 to yield 2.84 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3486 from Monday's $1.3569. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 83.28 yen from Monday's 83.19 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.31 percent, 30.41, to 9,797.10.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 2.38 percent, 138.51 points, to 5,681.90.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).