China Trade Data Weighs on Markets

Stateside stocks traded lower Tuesday after weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data renewed concerns about global growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial average slid 101.63 points to 16,972.32, with Caterpillar the greatest decliner and Home Depot leading a few advancers.

The S&P 500 docked 13.25 points to 1,988.51, with energy leading all 10 sectors lower.

The NASDAQ index fell 35.05 points to 4,673.20

China's exports fell 25.4% year-over-year in February, more than expected and the largest since May 2009. The trade surplus was at $32.59 billion U.S. in February, versus analysts' expectations of a $50.15-billion U.S. surplus.

Analysts largely attributed the sharp drop in the data to a slowdown in business activity around the early February Lunar New Year holidays. Exports for the first two months of the year were still down 17.8% and imports off 16.7% from the same period last year.

The data also showed China's February crude oil imports jumped 20% on year to their highest ever on a daily basis, driven by import quotas and stockpiling.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.82% from Monday's 1.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices lost 52 cents a barrel to $37.38 U.S.

Gold prices added seven cents to $1,267.40 U.S. an ounce.