Stocks fall as Japan’s situation worsens

The stock market tumbled hundreds of points Tuesday morning as concern over a developing nuclear crisis and the after-effects of a major earthquake in Japan shook investor confidence.

{mosads}Minutes after the stock market opened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped sharply, shedding over 200 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq similarly collapsed, as all three markets dropped roughly 2 percent.

The U.S. markets followed the lead of Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average, which fell 11 percent overnight amid the news of a worsening situation at a Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by last week’s massive earthquake. The disaster and resultant tsunami have left thousands either dead or missing.

The downturn is the latest in what has been a rough month for investors, after the stock market shed hundreds of points last week amid continuing concern over turmoil in the Middle East and escalating gas prices.