US stocks tumble on oil prices, Greece uncertainty

In this Oct. 2, 2014, file photo, people pass a Wall Street subway stop, in New York’s financial district. US stocks tumbled Tuesday, May 5, 2015, on worries about higher oil prices and a spike in tensions over the Greek debt crisis.  AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK–US stocks tumbled Tuesday on worries about higher oil prices and a spike in tensions over the Greek debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 142.20 points (0.79 percent) to 17,928.20.

The broad-based S&P 500 lost 25.03 (1.18 percent) at 2,089.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 77.60 (1.55 percent) to 4,939.33.

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, cited the rise in US oil prices above $60 a barrel as a drag on stocks. US gasoline prices have risen 10 percent in the last month.

Analysts also cited a sharp rise in the US trade deficit in March and the growing rift between Greece and its creditors over the terms of a bailout. European stocks fell sharply, with Germany’s DAX 30 dropping 2.5 percent and France’s CAC 40 losing 2.2 percent.

Losses were broad-based with virtually all members of the 30-stock Dow ending lower.

However, many technology companies fell a bit harder than companies in other sectors. Dow members Apple and Intel fell 2.3 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, while Google dropped 1.9 percent and Gilead Sciences shed 2.5 percent.

Exceptions included Netflix (+1.9 percent), which was upgraded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Tesla Motors (+1.1 percent), which reports earnings on Wednesday.

Chinese online giant Alibaba fell 1.3 percent to a new all-time low below $80, two days before it releases quarterly earnings. Chairman Jack Ma announced a hiring freeze last week, saying the company had grown too fast.

Cosmetics company Estee Lauder jumped 4.0 percent as net income for the quarter ending March 31 came in at 71 cents per share, seven cents above expectations.

EOG Resources tumbled 4.9 percent after reporting a first-quarter loss of $169.7 million. The oil producer was also singled out by money manager David Einhorn at an investor presentation Monday for wasteful spending on fracking.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.18 percent from 2.13 percent Monday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.91 percent from 2.87 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.