Stocks Tumble Once Again

Another day of worries about the health of the U.S. financial and housing sectors sent stocks tumbling more than 2%, capping the worst three-day stretch for the Dow since January.

And tech stocks didn’t fare much better. Of the 25 most heavily-traded Nasdaq stocks, 23 ended the day lower, with only Level 3 (NASDAQ: LVLT) and biotech company Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) ending higher.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Sun (NASDAQ: JAVA) lost nearly 5% each. Apple lost ground despite good news about the health of CEO Steve Jobs.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) shed 3% on news of a new competitor.

Even XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) and Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) tumbled despite finally getting their long-awaited merger approval.

Silicom (NASDAQ: SILM) tumbled 26% on its results, and Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) lost 5% on its earnings report.

Tech stocks trading on the NYSE also took a hit. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) lost 2.5% despite posting strong quarterly results.

VMware (NYSE: VMW) and Seagate (NYSE: STX) were among the rare tech winners on the NYSE, while Micron (NYSE: MU) tumbled 8% to a new 52-week low on pricing worries.

If Tuesday is going to be any better, investors will need help from an unlikely source — earnings from troubled GM (NYSE: GM) — although investors will also have to overcome plans announced late Monday by Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to raise yet more capital to cover losses. Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) will also report in the morning.

The Nasdaq lost 46 to 2264, the S&P fell 23 to 1234, and the Dow lost 239 to 11,131. Volume declined to 4.32 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.98 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led by a 24-9 margin on the NYSE, and 21-7 on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 81% on the NYSE, and 86% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 20-122 on the NYSE, and 51-118 on the Nasdaq.