US stock indexes slide in midday trading; oil heads lower

U.S. stocks slid broadly lower in midday trading Tuesday, led by declines in banks and technology companies. Energy stocks also fell as the price of crude oil headed lower. Bond yields fell and the price of gold rose as investors monitored heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

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KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 8 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,348 as of 12:21 p.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 40 points, or 0.2 percent, to 20,617. The Nasdaq composite index lost 24 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,855. Small-company stocks bucked the downward trend. The Russell 2000 index edged up 3 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,370.

THE QUOTE: “One of our predictions this year is we're going to have higher volatility,” said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management. “It's to be expected with all the economic uncertainties, all the geopolitical uncertainties.”

RED FLAGS: North Korea said there could be “catastrophic consequences” after the U.S. ordered the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its battle group to waters off the Korean Peninsula. Nerves were already on edge with U.S.–South Korea war games underway, following recent ballistic missile launches by the North that have rattled neighboring countries. Wall Street's so-called “fear index,” known as the VIX, surged 11.7 percent.

TREASURY YIELDS: Government bonds also reflected growing unease among investors. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note fell to 2.31 percent from 2.36 percent late Monday. As bond prices rise, yields drop.

BUMPED: United Continental slid 2.7 percent amid growing public outrage over a video that showed police in Chicago dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight. The stock fell $1.94 to $69.57.

DIM OUTLOOK: MTS Systems slumped 10.3 percent after the maker of mechanical testing systems issued disappointing earnings and sales forecasts for the year. The stock shed $5.52 to $48.28.

ROUGH ROAD AHEAD: Hub Group sank 14.2 percent after the transportation management company forecast weak first-quarter results, citing high truck capacity that's led to big price cuts. The stock lost $6.73 to $40.53.

BAG IT: Supervalu jumped 8.3 percent after the supermarket chain agreed to buy grocery distributor Unified Grocers for $375 million, most of which will go to pay Unified Grocers' debt. Shares in Supervalu climbed 32 cents to $4.11.

CLIP IT: RetailMeNot vaulted 49 percent after the online coupon company agreed to be acquired by payment and marketing company Harland Clark Holdings for $11.60 a share, or $555 million. RetailMeNot picked up $3.80 to $11.55.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany's DAX was down 0.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 was 0.1 percent lower. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent. Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index slipped 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.7 percent. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil was down 18 cents at $52.90 a barrel in New York. It closed higher Monday for the fifth day in a row, adding 84 cents. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, was down 33 cents at $55.65 a barrel. It jumped 74 cents the day before.

GOLD: The precious metal, which is often sought out by investors as a safe haven in times of global uncertainty, was up 1.6 percent at $1,274 an ounce.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 109.78 yen from 111.94 yen late Monday. The euro rose to $1.0623 from $1.0596.

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