Roundup: U.S. stocks tumble following European markets

U.S. stocks suffered big losses Tuesday as the slump in European equity markets rattled nervous investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 179.72 points, or 1.09 percent, to 16,330.47. The S&P 500 lost 24.23 points, or 1.23 percent, to 1,942.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 72.23 points, or 1.50 percent, to 4,756.72.

European shares ended drastically lower Tuesday, with Germany's benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange diving 3.8 percent, as a result of Volkswagen's emissions scandal.

The German carmaker on Tuesday revealed that a total of 11 million diesel cars may have been involved in the emissions-testing manipulations.

The company's shares plummeted 19.8 percent Tuesday, following previous day's deep decline of 18.6 percent, on news that it could face an 18-billion U.S. dollars fine in the U.S. for rigging emission tests on its diesel vehicles.

In Asia, Chinese equities extended their rally Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.92 percent, while Japan's stock markets were closed for a holiday.

Some analysts believed that uncertainty about the timing of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve had led to increased volatility.

The U.S. central bank held its benchmark rate near zero after concluding its two-day monetary policy meeting Thursday. Most Fed officials, however, still expect a rate increase this year, the first in nine years.

On the economic front, U.S. house prices increased 0.6 percent in July from the previous month, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Tuesday. From July 2014 to July 2015, house prices were up 5.8 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, jumped 11.42 percent to end at 22.44 Tuesday.

In other markets, U.S. oil price fell Tuesday as traders worried that global supplies exceed demand.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery moved down 85 cents to settle at 45.83 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery increased 16 cents to close at 49.08 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies Tuesday as recent remarks by some Fed officials renewed market expectations for interest-rate hikes this year.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1131 dollars from 1.1190 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 120.02 Japanese yen, lower than 120.60 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange extended losses Tuesday, with the most active gold contract for December delivery falling 8 dollars, or 0.71 percent, to settle at 1,124.80 dollars per ounce. Endit