Stocks tumble, oil surges on Syria jitters

• Price of oil nearly tops %24109 a barrel amid fears of a U.S. surgical strike in the Middle East
• The yield on the bellwether 10-year Treasury note dips to 2.71%25 from 2.92%25 intraday high Friday
• Stocks head lower around the globe%2C starting in Asia%2C then in Europe and the U.S.

Stocks tumbled and the price of crude oil surged Tuesday, fueled by fears the U.S. government is gearing up for a redoubled confrontation with Syria.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 170.33 points, or 1.1%, to 14,776.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 index plunged 26.30, or 1.6%, to 1,630.48.

The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index fell 79.05 points, or 2.2%, to 3,578.52, as Facebook's effort to hit a post-IPO record high stumbled. The social media giant's shares fell below $40, dropping $1.70, or 4.1%, to $39.64.

On Monday, the Dow fell 0.4% to close at 14,946.46, dipping below 15,000 for the second straight week. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.4% to close at 1,656.78, more than 50 points off its all-time closing high of 1,709.67 on Aug. 2. The Nasdaq composite declined to 3,657.57.

Markets in the U.S. were rattled after Secretary of State John Kerry said there was "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government against rebellious civilians last week, and suggested the administration was edging closer to a military response.

In global markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark closed down 93.91 points, or 0.7%, to 13,542.37. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished down 130.55 points, or 0.6%, to 21,874.77, and Mumbai's Sensex index plunged 590 points, 3.2%, to end at 17,968.08 as the nation's currency, the rupee, hit a new low off recent comments in the Federal Reserve's policy-making meeting minutes.

In Europe, stocks sold off: UK's FTSE 100 index finished down 51.13 points, or 0.8% to 6,440.97 and Germany's DAX 30 index tumbled 2.3% to close at 8,242.56. France's CAC 40 index ended down 98.40 points, or 2.4%, to 3,968.73.

Gold, which typically rises as world tensions do, jumped $23 an ounce, or $1.6%, to $1,416.

In the U.S. Treasury market, another traditional safe haven, traders pushed prices up and yields down. The bellwether 10-year Treasury note yield fell to 2.72% from 2.81% Monday as its price surged.

Benchmark oil for October delivery jumped 2.8% to about $109 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Contributing: Associated Press