NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday, pressured by disappointing results from large multinational companies.
When the market closed, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 243.36 points, or 1.82 percent, to 13,102.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 20.71 points, or 1.44 percent, to 1,413.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 26.50 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,990.46.
The losses were across the board, with all 10 big-cap sectors of S&P 500 lower and materials and energy stocks among biggest losers.
The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, soared more than 10 percent to end above 18.
The blue-chip Dow plunged about 250 points at its session low, with DuPont leading the losers among 30 Dow components.
Shares of DuPont plummeted more than 9 percent after the chemical company reported a profit that fell short of expectations and announced 1,500 layoffs in an aggressive cost-cutting move. Another Dow component 3M also tumbled over 4 percent as the company cut its profit expectations for this year due to "current economic realities".
Concerns over European debt problems continued to exert downward pressures on the market. Spain's borrowing costs rose on Tuesday after the rating agency Moody's downgraded five Spanish regions.
Among other stocks in focus, Apple dropped 3.26 percent after the tech giant unveiled its new version of tablet iPad mini. The new product is meant to compete with smaller, 7-inch tablets from companies like Google and Amazon, however the price is still higher than its rivals in the market.
Stocks of Facebook rallied more than 8 percent in after-hours trading right after the social network company reported its third- quarter results after the closing bell. The company posted revenue that slightly beat forecasts, and signaled that it was making money from showing ads on mobile devices.
Also attracting investors' attention, the Federal Reserve began a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, but few achievements are expected at the backdrop of the presidential election.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen rose against most of their counterparts on Tuesday amid widespread concerns over global growth and third-quarter corporate financial results.
New York oil prices tumbled on stronger dollar and concerns over global demand, one day after it settled under 90 dollars a barrel for the first time since Aug. 3.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery lost 1.98 dollars, or 2.22 percent, to settle at 86.67 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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