Big Blue Leads Dow Industrials Lower

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The Dow fell solidly into negative territory Tuesday as shares of computing heavyweight IBM sold off and traders mulled a round of economic data.

Today's Markets

As of 3:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.3 points, or 0.58%, to 15522, the S&P 500 dipped 9.4 points, or 0.55%, to 1698 and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 25. points, or 0.68%, to 3667.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) shares were under heavy pressure on the back of a downgrade from Credit Suisse. The investment bank cut the computing giant to "underperform" from "neutral." The move in Big Blue's shares shaved more than 30 points off of the Dow's performance.

Sony (NYSE:SNE) turned down a proposal from Dan Loeb's Third Point to spin off its entertainment business. The electronics giant came under heavy selling pressure on the move. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos will buy Washington Post's (NYSE:WPO) publishing business, including its namesake paper, for $250 million.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit fell to $34.22 billion in June from $44.1 billion in May, much smaller than the $43.5 billion deficit economists expected. Imports slid 2.5%, while exports jumped 2.2% to a record high.

While the data are a lagging indicator, they will figure directly into second-quarter gross domestic product readings.

Europe is in recovery mode. Or at least that's what the latest round of data show. Germany and the UK both saw gauges of industrial output jump past expectations in June. Meanwhile, struggling Italy's troubled economy contracted less than economists expected in the second quarter.

The continent has struggled as the eurozone's debt crisis has hit internal demand. Meanwhile, external demand has taken a hit as much of the developing world only slowly recovers.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans is set to speak to reporters later in the day. Commentary from Fed officials has driven markets in recent weeks as traders look for clues on when the central bank will begin paring back its easing program and eventually hike interest rates.

Elsewhere, U.S. oil rose 42 cents, or 0.39%, to $106.97 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline gained 0.61% to $2.969 a gallon. Gold slumped $13.80, or 1.1%, to $1,289 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.09% to 2812, the English FTSE 100 dipped 0.11% to 6612 and the German DAX slipped 0.02% to 8369.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 rallied 1% to 14401 and the Chinese Hang Seng sold off by 1.3% to 21924.