US STOCKS-Wall Street dragged lower by global fears

                                

                                
 * Wal-Mart, Home Depot quarterly earnings top estimates
                                
 * China fears pressure commodities, Ireland still in focus
                                
 * Dow, S&P, Nasdaq all down 1.6 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to midafternoon, changes byline)
                                
 By Leah Schnurr
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell broadly on
Tuesday as worries of tighter credit in China and growing
concerns over Europe's debt problems prompted investors to dump
materials and tech shares.
                                
 Ireland said it was discussing stabilization measures with
its European partners, while the Wall Street Journal reported
European officials are weighing a rescue package of 80 billion
to 100 billion euros ($107 billion to $134 billion) for Ireland
and a separate, smaller bailout for its hard-pressed banking
sector. For details, see [ID:nLDE6AE2AI]
                                
 In China, official media reported the country will unveil
food price controls and crack down on commodity speculation to
contain inflationary pressure. The move would be an escalation
of the government's efforts to rein in inflation.
[ID:nL3E6MG081]
                                
 "We knew that inflation was kicking in, but the market is
worried that inflationary pressures are stronger than initially
thought and worried that perhaps the Chinese will step on the
brakes too much," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at
Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
                                
 "When there's a sense that demand (in emerging markets)
could slow down because of monetary actions, it makes the
market pause."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 177.75
points, or 1.59 percent, to 11,024.22. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> shed 19.41 points, or 1.62 percent, to
1,178.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 39.32 points,
or 1.56 percent, to 2,474.50.
                                
 In a risk-averse, commodity-led slide that has become a
familiar pattern over the last week and a half, crude oil
futures dropped 3 percent to $82.34 a barrel, gold and metal
prices fell and the dollar index jumped 1 percent.
                                
 That weighed on natural resource stocks such as Alcoa Inc
<AA.N>, which fell 2.8 percent to $13.02, and Exxon Mobil Corp
<XOM.N>, which dropped 2.1 percent to $69.03.
                                
 The S&P materials sector <.GSPM> gave up 2 percent. Tech
shares <.GSPT> also led the way lower, down 1.5 percent, as
investors abandoned riskier bets.
                                
 Continued speculation over whether the Federal Reserve will
spend all of the $600 billion it had earmarked for its latest
round of quantitative easing also pressured the market.
                                
 St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in an interview
with Bloomberg Radio the central bank would scale down its
planned purchases of Treasury bonds only if there was a strong
improvement in the U.S. economy. [ID:nN16134186].
                                
 Global developments overshadowed a favorable U.S. corporate
picture as Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> and Home Depot Inc
<HD.N> raised their profit forecasts for the year.
                                
 The two companies were the only Dow stocks to rise.
Wal-Mart gained 1.2 percent to $54.59 after it also forecast
positive same-store sales for the holiday season, and Home
Depot added 1.3 percent to $31.81, though it cut its full-year
sales outlook. [ID:nN1691422] [ID:nN1627318].
 (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Additional reporting by Edward
Krudy; Editing by Kenneth Barry)