Markets stumble hard in early going

Stocks took an early beating in New York Tuesday with investors pondering disappointing third quarter reports and ongoing economic struggles. In a two-day stretch without a significant economic report to divert anyone's attention, investors were contemplating DuPont's July through September results, the latest in a string of blue-chip firms that came in under expectations. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 248.91 points, 1.87 percent, to 13,096.06. The Nasdaq composite index shed 40.58 points or 1.35 percent to 2,976.38. The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 24.72 points or 1.72 percent to 1,409.10. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 16/32 to yield 1.76 percent. The euro fell to $1.3061 from Monday's $1.2957. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 79.72 yen from 79.96 yen. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.04 percent, 3.54 points, to 9,014.25.