Stocks Lower in Early Trade

U.S. stocks slid broadly lower in early trading Tuesday, led by declines technology companies and banks. Energy stocks also fell as the price of crude

oil headed lower. Bond yields fell and the price of gold rose as investors

monitored heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

  (AP) -- U.S. stocks slid broadly lower in early trading Tuesday, led by

declines technology companies and banks. Energy stocks also fell as the price

of crude oil headed lower. Bond yields fell and the price of gold rose as

investors monitored heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

  KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13 points, or 0.6

percent, to 2,343 as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial

average slid 78 points, or 0.4 percent, to 20,575. The Nasdaq composite index

lost 46 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,834.

  BUMPED: United Continental slid 4.2 percent amid growing public outrage over

a video that showed police in Chicago dragging a passenger off an overbooked

flight. The stock fell $3.02 to $68.54.

  RED FLAGS: North Korea said there could be "catastrophic consequences" after

the U.S. ordered the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its battle group to

waters off the Korean Peninsula. Nerves were already on edge with U.S.-South

Korea war games underway, following recent ballistic missile launches by the

North that have rattled neighboring countries. Wall Street's so-called "fear

index," known as the VIX, surged 7.5 percent.

  TREASURY YIELDS: Government bonds also reflected growing unease among

investors. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note fell to 2.32 percent

from 2.36 percent late Monday. As bond prices rise, yields drop.

  BAG IT: Supervalu jumped 10.5 percent after the supermarket chain agreed to

buy grocery distributor Unified Grocers for $375 million, most of which will go

to pay Unified Grocers' debt. Shares in Supervalu climbed 39 cents to $4.18.

  CLIP IT: RetailMeNot vaulted 49 percent after the online coupon company

agreed to be acquired by payment and marketing company Harland Clark Holdings

for $11.60 a share, or $555 million. RetailMeNot picked up $3.78 to $11.53.

  MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany's DAX was down 0.1 percent, while

France's CAC 40 was 0.1 percent lower. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index slipped 0.3 percent, while Hong

Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.7 percent. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4 percent.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent. Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed.

  ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil was down 32 cents at $52.77 a barrel in New

York. It closed higher Monday for the fifth day in a row, adding 84 cents.

Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, was down 36 cents at

$55.63 a barrel. It jumped 74 cents the day before.

  GOLD: The precious metal, which is often sought out by investors as a safe

haven in times of global uncertainty, was up 1.1 percent at $1,267 an ounce.

  CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 110.24 yen from 111.94 yen late Monday. The

euro rose to $1.0617 from $1.0596.