Dow drops triple digits as crude surges to 3-mo. high

U.S. stocks took a beating Tuesday with blue chips suffering their biggest losses in five months amid sharp declines in Home Depot and Merck and a spike in crude-oil prices to a three-month high.

The Dow Jones Industrials Average (^DJI – News) stumbled 149 points, or 1.3 percent, to 10,636 as all 30 of its components fell into the red. The slide marks the first triple-digit loss for the blue chip barometer since Jan. 13 and its biggest intraday point loss since Sept. 21.