U.S. shares book largest decline of 2012; Dow down 1.57%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks plunged Tuesday, booking the biggest decline of 2012, amid renewed Greek worries and European slowdown concerns.

At the close of  U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.57%, the S&P 500 index declined 1.54%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gave back 1.36%.

Markets remained nervous ahead of the March 8 deadline for Greece’s private creditors to sign on to a EUR106 billion debt swap deal, a requirement for Athens to tap a recently approved EUR130 billion bailout fund.

Sentiment was also depressed earlier after Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations, while annualized GDP contracted at a rate of 0.7%.

The data fuelled concerns over the outlook for global growth, coming one day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government will target expansion of 7.5% in 2012, the lowest GDP target in eight years.

Financial stocks led losses as Goldman Sachs plummeted 3.43% and Bank of America tumbled 3.01%, while Citigroup and JP Morgan declined 3% and 1.91%.

In the tech sector, Apple shares plunged 2.42% even after Barclays raised its target price on the iPad maker to USD710 from USD630.

Google and Yahoo also saw shares slip 1.27% and 0.14%, although Nomura started coverage of the Internet companies with "buy" and "neutral" ratings and price targets of USD750 and USD13.50 respectively.

Adding to losses, Skullcandy sank 9.58% after the headphone maker said CFO Mitch Edwards has resigned.

Elsewhere, energy stocks were broadly lower as shares in Exxon Mobil declined 0.88% and Chevron retreated 0.83%, while Chesapeake Energy Corp saw shares plunge 2.23%. 

Private equity group KKR & Co and Chesapeake Energy Corp, the second-largest U.S. producer of natural gas, said they will form a partnership to invest in mineral and royalty interests in oil and gas assets in the United States and will initially pump in USD250 million.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 3.41%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 3.58%, Germany's DAX gave back 3.40%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.86%.

On Wednesday, investors are awaiting ADP payroll numbers in the US, this figure is often thought of as a precursor to the official numbers released on Friday. German factory orders and Australian GDP figures are also on tap.