Pre Market Open Update

*The Dow suffers its third loss of 100 points or more in four days after Germany says it will ban naked short-selling; the euro falls to $1.22. DJI broke below the price level at 10600 (100-EMA). Next critical support at 10260

US stocks tumbled last night in choppy trade as the European debt crisis continued to cast a pall over the market with Germany announcing plans to ban "naked" short-selling of 10 banks, certain euro-zone bonds and credit default swaps. The euro plunged to a new four-year low of below US$1.22, oil erased a 3.5% advance to settle below US$70 a barrel on concerns the impact of the eurozone austerity measures on consumer consumption.

The DJIA slumped 115 points or 1.08% to 10,511 as the blue-chip index erased an early gains triggered by better-than-estimated housing starts and Wal-Mart results. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 37 points or 1.6% to 2,317 while the broad-market S&P 500 slipped 16 points or 1.4% to 1,121. The S&P 500 ended just below 1,121, which had served as a support level marking the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the decline from its peak in late 2007 to a 12-year low in Mar 09. In the past 11 weeks, the benchmark index has mostly traded in a band between 1,121 and below 1,228, the 61.8 Fibonacci retracement of that move. Among US stocks in focus was global retail giant Wal-Mart, rising 1.85% after it achieved a record net profit of US$3.32bn in 1Q10 on the back of strong sales abroad. Banking stocks were hit, Goldman Sachs, BoA and JPMorgan all lost at least 2% to pace declines in 78 of 79 financial shares in the S&P 500.

Shares of technology companies, which tend to rely heavily on overseas sales, were also among the biggest losers. An index of semiconductor shares .SOXX lost 2.9% while Intel Corp dropped 2.7%. But there was a bright spark after the closing bell when HP reported results that beat expectations on good demand for personal computers and servers and raised its full-year earnings outlook. HP's stock rose 2.5% in extended trade.