Reuters
Near 11:15 am ET, the Dow was down about 85 points, the S&P 500 was down 16 points, and the Nasdaq was down 31 points.
On a percentage basis, the S&P 500 was leading losses as the benchmark index approached the 2,000 level.
US stocks are taking their lead from stocks in Europe, which have seen losses accelerate after a report from Reuters outlined a growing discord within the European Central Bank, specifically over ECB president Mario Draghi's communication style.
Oil continues to get crushed and fell below $77 a barrel as the commodity continues its recent slide that began back in late summer.
In the US, we got economic data in the form of the latest trade balance report and the September report on factory orders.
In September, the trade deficit widened to $43 billion, more than the $40.2 billion that was expected by economists.
Meanwhile factory orders declined for the second straight month, falling 0.6% in September.
In corporate earnings news, Alibaba reported its first quarterly results since going public in September and reported earnings per share that were in-line with expectation on revenue that topped estimates.
Herbalife shares are getting crushed, falling as much as 19% on Tuesday after the multi-level marketing firm on Monday night reported results that disappointed and gave revenue guidance for next year that was well below expectations.
Tuesday is also an ugly day for Herbalife's biggest shareholder, Carl Icahn, whose Icahn Enterprises posted a $355 million net loss in the third quarter. Business Insider's Linette Lopez has the full breakdown of Icahn's losses, which largely related to a number of companies that are in his portfolio but don't get as much coverage as high profile names like Herbalife, Apple, and eBay.
Tuesday is also Election Day in the US, and experts are predicting a Republican landslide that will likely see the party take control of the Senate and widen its lead in the House, reports Business Insider's Brett Logiurato.