Stocks slide as rate cuts stoke fear of an economic slowdown

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tumbled in early trading Wednesday as central banks around the world cut interest rates and increased fears that global growth is being crimped by the U.S.-China trade war.

Every major U.S. index fell in the early going, putting stocks back on a course for losses after briefly breaking a six-day losing streak on Tuesday. Investors were back in defensive mode headed for relatively safe holdings.

Bond prices spiked again, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to 1.62 percent from 1.74 percent late Tuesday, a very large move. Yields are at their lowest level in nearly three years. That benchmark yield has retreated from its recent high of 3.23 percent last November as expectations of economic growth have steadily faded.

"The Treasury market is trading much higher this morning as investors continue to seek a safer haven, completely unsure as to what may happen next," Kevin Giddis, head of fixed income capital markets at Raymond James wrote in a report.

Banks sustained some of the worst losses as bond yields fell sharply. Lower bond yields mean lower interest rates on mortgages and other kinds of loans, which mean lower profits for banks. JPMorgan Chase fell 3.2 percent and Bank of America fell 3.6 percent.

The dimming expectations for global growth also send the price of crude oil sharply lower. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 3 percent at $52 a barrel. That helped pull energy sector stocks lower. Occidental Petroleum gave up 3.1 percent.

Big technology stocks, longtime investor favorites, also posted hefty losses. IBM lost 2 percent.

The S&P 500 index fell 1.1% as of 10:16 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 352 points, or 1.4 percent, to 25,509. It was down as much as 589 earlier.

The Nasdaq fell 0.6 percent.