Dow dives below 12,000

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By Ken Sweet, contributing writer August 2, 2011: 3:34 PM ET

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks fell sharply and bond yields dropped to a nine-month low Tuesday as a investors worried about the weak economy following another disappointing economic report.
"Now that we have solved the debt ceiling issue the market has moved onto the other data, which has taken a significant turn for the worse," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist with Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) sank 210 points, or 1.7%, with less than 30 minutes left in the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) was down 26 points, or 2%; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) was down 57 points, or 2.1%.
The Dow is on pace for its eighth straight day of declines -- its first first since October 2008, when the financial system was in the depths of the crisis. The Dow was also below the psychologically important 12,000-point mark.
The S&P 500 has broken through several key technical resistance points as well, including the index's closely-watched 200-day moving average.
As the selling gained momentum, investors quickly shifted gears and started pouring money into the traditional safe-havens - bonds and gold.
Yields on the 10-year Treasury note declined to their lowest levels since early November, hitting 2.62% after earlier nearly falling below the 2.6% level. Prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Meanwhile, gold prices surged, hitting a fresh record high of $1,644.50 an ounce.

Is the bull market over?

Stocks started the day lower after a weak report on personal income and spending showed Americans cut spending for the first time in 20 months in June.
"There are still a lot of fears about how slow the economy is growing," said Hamed Khorsand, analyst at BWF Financial.
Stocks took a wild ride Monday, with the Dow finishing lower for the 7th straight session, following a report showing poor manufacturing activity.
Economy: Monday's dour manufacturing report came on the heels of last week's GDP report, that showed the U.S. economy grew at an annualized pace of just 1.3% in the second quarter. More disturbingly, the first-quarter reading was revised down to 0.4%.

Debt deal won't fix job market

Investors will get a number of fresh data points on the economy this week, with the most important coming Friday in the July jobs report.
The U.S. economy is expected to have created 84,000 jobs last month, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by Briefing.com. In June, the economy added a paltry 18,000 jobs. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 9.2%.

Dollar: The 'last resort' safe haven

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained ground against the euro, the Japanese yen and British pound.
Oil for September delivery dropped $1.43 to $93.44 a barrel.
Companies: Shares of NYSE Euronext (NYX, Fortune 500), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, fell 4%. The stock exchange operator posted a 19% drop in second-quarter profit, due in part to costs associated with its Deutsche Boerse merger.
General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) said its July auto sales rose 7.6%, which was mostly in line with analysts' expectations. Shares were down 3%.
Meanwhile Ford (F, Fortune 500) posted a 8.9% increase in its July sales. While that was better than expected, shares were down 3%.
Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500)'s stock slid 4%, after the Dow component and pharmaceutical maker posted earnings and sales that slightly beat expectations, but fell from a year earlier.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM, Fortune 500)'s stock sank 4%, after the agricultural products company posted a fourth-quarter profit that dropped 15% from a year ago, amid higher corn prices. The results were well below Wall Street's estimates.
Shares of Metro PCS (PCS) plunged 33%, after the prepaid wireless provider's second-quarter earnings and sales fell short of expectations.
After the closing bell, media company CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) will announce results.
World markets: European stocks ended broadly lower. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1%, the DAX in Germany dropped 2.3%, and France's CAC 40 slipped 1.8%.
Asian markets also finished in the red. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.9%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 1% and Japan's Nikkei lost 1.2%. 

First Published: August 2, 2011: 9:49 AM ET