Stock Trading

he stock market fell sharply Tuesday after a surprising drop in consumer confidence reminded investors of the fragility of the economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrials fell 100 points. Interest rates also fell in the bond market as investors moved money out of stocks and into the safety of Treasurys.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 46 in February from 56.5 last month. That was well below the forecast of economists polled by Thomson Reuters. They expected a reading of 55.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 100.97, or 0.1 percent, to 10,282.41.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13.41, or 1.2 percent, to 1,094.60.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 28.59, or 1.3 percent, to 2,213.44.

For the week

The Dow is down 119.94, or 1.2 percent.

The S&P is down 15.10, or 1.4 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 30.43, or 1.4 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is down 145.64, or 1.4 percent.

The S&P is down 20.50, or 1.8 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 55.71, or 2.5 percent.