Stocks Slide amid Global Worries

U.S. stocks fell sharply at the open on Tuesday on concerns about the impact of lower oil prices on the global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average lately fell 158.57 points, or 0.89%, to 17,693.91. The S&P 500 lost 18.61 points, or 0.90%, to 2,041.70. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 50.18 points, or 1.06%, to 4,690.51.

Conn’s Inc. said Chief Financial Officer Brian Taylor is stepping down immediately as the furniture company withdrew its guidance and disclosed planned changes to its management structure to recoup losses from its credit-financing business.

Four patients with a lethal blood disorder were able to forgo life-sustaining blood transfusions within 90 days after they were treated with a technique to replace the defective gene responsible for their disease, researchers said Monday. The findings are the latest to show promise for the field of gene therapy, and for a treatment being developed by bluebird bio Inc. (BLUE).