* Investors wary ahead of European bank repayments to ECB
* Consumer confidence falls in June on job woes
* Indexes off: Dow 2.5 pct, S&P 2.7 pct, Nasdaq 3.1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates with consumer confidence data)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks tumbled on
Tuesday after a sharp decline in consumer confidence and on
fresh concerns over euro zone fiscal problems ahead of massive
bank repayments to the European Central Bank this week.
The S&P dropped to within striking distance of its 2010
low, which analysts said could trigger a further sell-off.
U.S. consumer confidence dropped sharply in June after
rising for three months on worries about the labor market,
according to a report from the Conference Board. For details,
see []
The slumping sentiment added to fears of a potential
liquidity shortfall of more than 100 billion euros in the
financial system as European banks repay 442 billion euros
($545.5 billion) in emergency loans on Thursday.
"It wasn't good. This is a continuation from what we saw
this morning, first from China, then Europe and now the U.S.,"
said Bart Barnett, head of listed trading at Morgan Keegan &
Co.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 255.14
points, or 2.52 percent, at 9,883.38. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> slid 28.58 points, or 2.66 percent, at 1,045.99.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> dropped 68.52 points, or
3.09 percent, at 2,152.13.
The three main U.S. stock indexes were already in a weak
technical position after their daily MACD, a widely followed
momentum indicator, generated a 'sell' signal.
Earlier in the day, the Conference Board corrected its
leading economic index for China to a rise of 0.3 percent in
April from an earlier reported 1.7 percent rise.
The correction prompted investors to turn against riskier
assets, adding to a global sell-off. The Shanghai composite
index fell 4.3 percent to a new 14-month low. []
"The hint of moderation is what alarmed markets as it comes
in the context of fragile U.S. and European economies at the
time we look to Asia as the global economic savior," said Peter
Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co in New York.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> dropped 3.4 percent to $75.61
a barrel, and the euro hit a lifetime low against the Swiss
franc and an 8-1/2 bottom against the yen.
Moving in tandem with stocks, the euro has become a proxy
for risk aversion. The The 25-day rolling correlation between
the euro and the S&P 500 rose to just short of 0.67 Tuesday.
The three-month LIBOR in euros, the price that European
banks charge each other for short-term loans, rose to an
8-month high.
The CBOE volatility index <.VIX>, known as Wall Street's
fear gauge, rose percent 16 percent to a session high of
34.39.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
