Stocks skidded Tuesday as disappointing reports from McDonald's, 3M and Kroger offset an earnings beat from FedEx.
That exacerbated worries about the recovery and sent investors fleeing to safety, which sent the dollar higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 100 points, or 1 percent, led by Bank of America. Twenty-nine of 30 components declined — Verizon was the only gainer.
President Obama unveiled his latest plans to stimulate the economyand create jobs, including new tax cuts for small businesses and measures to support renewable-energy manufacturing.
This came after banking analyst Meredith Whitney, who said on CNBC that the government is running out of ways to help the economy.
"I think they're out of bullets,"Whitney said.
One of her biggest concerns is a lack of credit access for consumers, who are "getting kicked out of the financial system."
There were also causes for concern from overseas: European investors worried about banks' exposure to Dubai's debt, a drop in Germany's industrial output and a credit downgrade on Greece.
The dollar edged higher against major currencies — even after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday gave strong indications that the central bank would not be raising rates and defending the US currency anytime soon.
Energy was the worst-performing sector as oil fell, settling at $72.62 a barrel.
Gold dropped to $1,142.80 an ounce.
McDonald'sdragged on the Dow after the fast-food giantsaid same-store sales fell 0.6 percentin November, the second straight monthly decline.
And 3M, which makes everything from Post-It notes to Scotch tape, issued a forecast that missed expectations.
Plus, grocery chain Kroger missed the mark with its earnings and slashed its full-year forecast.
JPMorgan Chase added fuel to the fire, saying it sees additional losses on credit cards and home loansnext year.
That trio of bad news offset an encouraging report after the bell Monday: FedEx delivered earnings that handily beat its previous forecast.
Texas Instruments will release its mid-quarter update at about 5 pm.
