Investing.com -- U.S. stocks plummeted on Tuesday erasing most of their gains from one day earlier, after China triggered a major sell-off throughout global markets by unexpectedly devaluing its currency earlier in the session.
In overnight trading, the People's Bank of China lowered the yuan by 1.9%, its most significant devaluation in more than two decades, in an effort to make its exports more competitive and bolster an economy which is experiencing its slowest growth in approximately 10 years. The lower yuan also sparked a sell-off in commodities markets, as U.S. crude futures fell to their lowest level in six years while copper and aluminum also fell considerably.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite index each declined sharply, while the S&P 500 Composite index finished as the session's overperformer, even after falling by nearly 1%. Sharp losses in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) also weighed on both indices, as the Dow fell 212.33 or 1.21% to 17,402.84 and the NASDAQ lost 65.01 or 1.27% to close at 5,036.79. The Dow closed lower for the eighth time in nine sessions after halting a seven-day losing streak on Monday. The S&P 500, meanwhile, lost 20.11 or 0.96% to 2,084.07, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Basic Materials, Technology and Industrial sectors lagged, each falling by more than 1.25% on the session.
The top performer on the Dow was Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 0.37 or 0.78% to 47.60. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) finished as the worst performer after falling 6.23 or 5.20% to 113.49. During its last quarter, which ended in late-June, Apple's revenue in China skyrocketed by 112% to $13.2 billion, on the back of an 87% spike in iPhone unit growth in the Chinese markets.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Google Inc C (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its first full session since reshuffling its executive leadership on Monday after the bell. Shares in Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) surged 27.05 or 4.27% to 660.78 at Tuesday's close. The worst performer was Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC), which fell 1.57 or 6.85% to 21.34, after the California-based computer software company announced plans to sell its Veritas data storage unit to a group headed by the Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) for a reported $8 billion. The sale allows Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) to place a greater focus on its security software division.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC), which added 2.60 or 4.85% to 55.86. Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX) finished as the worst performer after plunging more than 12.25% to 10.22, as the China sell-off crushed commodities during Tuesday's session. Shares in Freeport, one of the world's largest producers of gold and copper, are down nearly 70% over the last 52 weeks.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1,967 to 1,184 margin.