Stocks Retreat Sharply on Earnings

U.S. stocks fell sharply Tuesday, with the Nasdaq closing under 3,000 for the first time since early August, as weaker earnings and concern about Spain heightened fears about the global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 243.28 points, or 1.82%, to 13,102.531. The S&P 500 index shed 20.71 points, or 1.44%, to 1,413.11. The Nasdaq Composite lost 26.50 points, or 0.88%, to 2,990.46, its lowest close since Aug. 6.

Social-networking giant Facebook (FB) reported earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday in its second quarterly report since its initial public offering in May. The company posted third-quarter earnings excluding items of 12 cents per share. Revenue increased to $1.26 billion from the $954 million that it reported in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its year-ago quarter.

Video rental service Netflix Inc (NFLX) posted a third-quarter profit on Tuesday as the addition of new streaming subscribers in the United States lifted revenue. Revenue for the July to September period reached $905 million, Netflix said. The company posted earnings of 13 cents per share.

Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) on Tuesday reported third-quarter earnings of $16.8 million, or 3 cents a share, on revenue of $1.12 billion. During the same period a year ago, the networking-equipment maker earned $83.7 million, or 16 cents a share, on $1.1 billion in sales.

VMware Inc.(VMW) on Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit of $157 million, or 36 cents a share, on revenue of $1.13 billion, compared with earnings of $178 million, or 41 cents a share, on $941.8 million in sales in the same period a year ago.

Spanish lenders will transfer newly constructed housing assets into Spain’s bad bank at an average discount of 52.2 percent of original book value and second-hand housing at an average discount of 47.5 percent, a source with knowledge of the process said on Tuesday.