Financial markets tumble over spreading debt crisis

Worries about Europe’s debt crisis and possible moves by authorities in Asia to slow fast-paced growth there swept the world’s markets on Tuesday and pushed stocks in the United States sharply lower.

As finance ministers from the 16 countries that use the euro met in Brussels to discuss the problems in Ireland, investors worried that the debt crisis could spread across the Continent to Portugal, and even to Spain.

“There is a worry about the state of things overseas. It is the European debt crisis that is causing this,” said Zach Pandl, economist at Nomura in New York.

Stocks, which have been grinding lower since the Federal Reserve announced its asset purchase program to stimulate the economy, fell for the seventh consecutive day.

The Dow Jones industrial average briefly fell below 11,000 for the first time since early October. At the close it was at 11,023.50 down 178.47 points, or 1.59 percent on the day.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 1.62 percent, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.75 percent.

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