Stocks in New York Continue to Unwind

Updated from 1:49 p.m. EDT

Stocks in the U.S. were mired in the red Tuesday as sellers swarmed Wall Street amid a slew of bad tidings, including warmer-than-expected inflationary data, negative news on the corporate side and another record for oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked 212 points, or 1.6%, to 12,817 under the weight of Home Depot (HD Quote), the day's worst-performing component. The other 29 stocks the Dow tracks -- with the exception of energy giant Chevron (CVX Quote) -- likewise headed downhill.

Broader indices were performing a bit better, but were still well under water: the S&P 500 sank 13 points, or 0.9%, to 1413, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 25 points, or 1%, at 2491.

Bill Stone, chief investment strategist with PNC Wealth Management, said investors were probably spooked by the fact that yesterday's big afternoon rally couldn't sustain itself through the end of the day. He also believes today's declines constitute a natural unwinding after a months-long run-up for stocks.

"It's about time for a selloff," said Stone, "You have to take a step back every once in awhile. This doesn't shake me."

Target Beats Estimates, Kinda

Before the opening bell, the Labor Department said that prices of goods at the wholesale level, excluding the volatile effects of energy and food, rose 0.4% in April from the prior month. That's double the increase that economists were expecting, and also twice the price pickup of the prior month. Year over year, the core index was up 3% -- the biggest gain since December 1991 and topping the 2.8% high set in July 2005.