U.S. stocks fell Tuesday, with Boeing, Alcoa and Caterpillar leading a broad slide as a record drop in U.S. existing home sales added to investors' worries about the health of the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 133.96 points, or 1.32%, to 10040.45, its fourth straight drop.

The measure is now off 4.07% for the month and it is down 3.72% for the year. Boeing was the Dow's worst performer Tuesday with a decline of 2.37, or 3.7%, to 60.93, while Alcoa fell 31 cents, or 3%, to 10.06, and Caterpillar slipped 1.80, or 2.7%, to 65.04.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 35.87, or 1.66%, to 2123.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 15.49, or 1.45%, to 1051.87, with its materials sector leading the drop. The declines followed the report of a 27.2% plunge in U.S. home resales in July to their lowest level in 15 years.

The housing data represented the latest in a string of disappointing economic reports that have pointed to a weakening economy.

The weak economic numbers have come despite a recent uptick in merger and acquisition activity, which would typically be seen as a sign of improving confidence in the economy.

European market

Stock markets across Europe fell sharply Tuesday, with Ireland's benchmark index dropping more than 5%, as worries over the strength and sustainability of the economic recovery continued to unsettle investors.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined 1.7%, or 4.31 points, to 249.45. Equities in Ireland and Greece posted the steepest losses.

Among the main regional indexes, France's CAC 40 index slipped 1.8% to 3,491.11 and the U.K. FTSE 100 index fell 1.5% to 5,155.95.

Germany's DAX 30 index declined 1.3% to 5,935.44. Stocks in the region traded sharply lower throughout the day, but losses deepened further in afternoon trading after U.S. data showed existing home sales plunged more than 27% in July the biggest one month fall ever.

Most of Tuesday's earnings news came out of the U.K., where shares in copper miner Antofagasta dropped 1.5% after the group announced a 91% jump in first half profit to $451.2 million, but also said copper production would be below its original forecast for the year.

Other mining stocks also lost ground, with Rio Tinto dropping 4.3% and Anglo American falling 1.8%. Vedanta Resources was the biggest decliner in the sector, losing 7.6% after Indian authorities rejected the firm's plan to mine for bauxite in the state of Orissa.

Asian market

Asian stock markets closed mostly lower Tuesday, with the yen's rise pressuring exporter shares in Tokyo, knocking the Nikkei Stock Average into bearish territory.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.3% to end at 8,995.14, its lowest close since May 2009. Tuesday's close was also 20.7% below its April peak. South Korea's Kospi Composite ended 0.4% lower.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was off 1.1%.

In Japan, exporters' stocks were lower as the yen rose to a near 9 year high against the euro at 106.11 and a new 15 year high against the dollar of 84.15. Sony lost 3.7% and Nikon fell 4.0%.

Commodities and metals

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange fell Tuesday as disappointing U.S. housing data triggered a selloff across commodity and equity markets. Inventory increases in zinc and aluminum, and stagnant inventory levels in nickel.

Crude futures settled at the their lowest level in more than two months Tuesday, falling well below $72 a barrel on weakening equities markets and housing data that offered additional signs of a slowing economy.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled $1.47, or 2%, lower at $71.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled $1.24 lower at $72.38 a barrel.

Investors bid up gold prices as they fled to the perceived safety of the metal after a report showed U.S. existing home sales were much weaker than expected last month.

The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, reversed earlier losses to settle up $4.90, or 0.4%, at $1,233.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.