Stocks around the world fell yesterday as investors reacted to renewed concerns about global growth and the possibility of a "double dip" recession. In the US, shares tumbled to their second-lowest level this year yesterday as investors swung away from big companies towards the safety of the dollar and Treasury bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 268.22 points, or 2.65%, to 9870.30, its second-lowest close this year. Tuesday also represented the Dow's biggest one-day drop since June 4. It is now down 5.35% for the year to date. All of the Dow's 30 components ended the session in the red. The Nasdaq Composite sank 85.47, or 3.85 per cent, to 2135.18, its lowest close since February 8 and biggest one-day drop since May 20. The measure is off 5.9% for the year to date. The Standard & Poor's 500 slid 33.33, or 3.10 per cent, to 1041.24, its lowest close since October 30 last year. It is down 6.62 per cent for the year. All of the S&P 500's sectors fell, with the industrial, financial and technology sectors tumbling more than 3.8% each. The consumer-staples, telecommunications and health-care sectors, which are perceived as safer, had the smallest declines. The slide came after the US Conference Board sharply revised lower its April leading economic indicator for China, reigniting investors' fears over how a slowdown in China could impact global growth. The market is also concerned about how European banks will fare after the end of the European Central Bank's 12-month liquidity facility on Thursday. Adding to the worries, data from the Conference Board showed US consumer confidence dropped in June. Kelli Hill, portfolio manager at Ashfield Capital Partners, said: "People are very concerned about the potential of a double-dip. Perception is greater than reality, especially in the stock market, and it's the perceived notion of a double-dip that's weighing on the market today. The likelihood of it is probably fairly small but that doesn't prevent days like this." In Europe, worries focused on tomorrow's due date for huge loans owed by regional banks to the European Central Bank. The loan payments are viewed as a key indicator of the continent's financial health. Worries about the loan payments caused European stocks to drop sharply. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index plunged 2.8 per cent to 244.42, the biggest drop since May 19. The gauge is on course for the first quarterly drop since the rally in global equities began in March 2009 amid signs that China may need to raise interest rates to tame inflation in an economy that has been an engine of growth through the global financial crisis. France's CAC 40 fell 4 per cent and Germany's DAX lost 3.3 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 slid 3.1 per cent to the lowest level since September. Asian stocks also fell, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific Index by the most in three week. Other stock exchanges to see falls included the bourses in Toronto, Brazil, Johannesburg, Mexico and Mumbai. * Agencies