By David Hodari 

Global stocks slid Tuesday, following a sharp drop on Wall Street at the start of the week amid rising anxieties about the health of global economic growth.

Europe's pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.5% lower in morning trading, weighed down by a 1.5% fall in its oil-and-gas sector as concerns over rising supply dragged oil prices lower.

The fall in crude began late Monday and accelerated Tuesday, with prices dropping to fresh 14-month lows. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was down 2.9% to $57.88 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures fell 3% to $48.38 a barrel. Analysts cited the broader market selloff and persistent fears of growing supply.

Stocks also sold off in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei fell 1.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded 1.1% lower. Most other indexes fell by slightly less.

Weak European and Asian trading followed a shaky start to the week in the U.S., where the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index all tumbled 2%. The Russell 2000 index of small capitalization stocks slipped 2.3%, putting it in bear market territory.

The Dow's fall was its fourth 2% daily drop so far this month, the largest number of such days in December since 2008, when it had five such days.

"The selloff has continued to be orderly and when I see moves like this, I think it's not aggressive sellers as much as it's a lack of buyers," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.

The latest criticism of the Federal Reserve from President Trump -- ahead of the central bank's December policy meeting Wednesday -- added to investors' unease. Mr. Trump tweeted that it was "incredible" that the Fed's board was considering raising interest rates again.

Futures put both the S&P 500 and the Dow on course to edge higher at the New York open by 0.2% and 0.4% respectively, but the gloom that has descended on markets in recent months is unlikely to shift, some investors said.

Stubborn worries that global growth is slowing and a lack of detail behind warmer trade rhetoric between Washington and Beijing mean investors will begin 2019 on an uncertain footing, with businesses currently stymied by a lack of information.

The Federal Reserve's policy announcement may provide some short-term clarity on the investing environment, but "tariffs are the A, B and C story. When we have detail on interest rates and tariffs, you can make decisions down from CEOs to investors," Mr. Kinahan of TD Ameritrade said.

CME Group data gave a 73.2% probability to a Fed rate increase, although accompanying remarks about future policy from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will be under scrutiny for clues about the path of rates next year.

Mr. Powell has given mixed signals on Fed policy in recent months, spooking investors in October by saying rates were "a long way from neutral," referring to the point at which interest rates are neither spurring nor slowing economic growth. He later backtracked on those comments in November, saying rates were "just below" neutral.

The WSJ Dollar Index was last 0.2% lower, while the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasurys had last slipped to 2.824% from 2.857% late Monday.

In commodities, oil market investors were awaiting American Petroleum Institute inventory numbers, due Tuesday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to a production cut in Vienna on Dec. 7, but that restriction isn't set to take effect until Jan. 1.

Gold was up 0.1% at $1,253.40 a troy ounce.

Write to David Hodari at David.Hodari@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2018 05:27 ET (10:27 GMT)

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