Stocks Skid on Economic Growth Worries

Stocks are closing with sharp losses amid new signs the global economy is slowing, the AP reports. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its 2019 growth forecast, pointing to heightened trade tensions and rising interest rates. Technology and energy companies skidded. So did industrial companies, hurt by the slower growth forecast as well as some weak fourth-quarter earnings. Investors' fears about the U.S.-China trade dispute also affected stocks. The Financial Times reported that the U.S. canceled a round of preparatory trade talks scheduled for this week. The S&P 500 fell 37 points, or 1.4%, to 2,632. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 301 points, or 1.2%, to 24,404. The Nasdaq composite slid 136 points, or 1.9%, to 7,020. (More stock market stories.)