Europe's woes weigh on stocks

Ireland denies a European Union 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 euro zone economies," said Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, The New York Times reported.

Stocks fell in midday trading 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.

In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 104.94 points, or 0.94 percent, to 11,097.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 9.72 points, or 0.81 percent, to 1,188.03. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock lost 0.82 percent, 20.66 points, to 2,493.16.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 19/32 to yield 2.893 percent.

The euro rose to $1.357 from Monday's $1.3569. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 83.24 yen from Monday's 83.19 percent.

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

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