Energy drives Wall Street lower, Alcoa's results drag

US stocks dropped on worries falling oil prices could set off a reversal in the high-flying energy sector, while Alcoa's leaner-than-expected revenue disappointed.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 117.53 points, or 0.95 percent, at 12,263.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Indexwas down 10.30 points, or 0.78 percent, at 1,314.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 26.72 points, or 0.96 percent, at 2,744.79.

European stocks suffered their biggest one-day fall in a month, with the main indexes breaking below their 50-day moving averages, as Japan's worsening nuclear crisis sparked a bout of profit taking.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares dropped 1.7 percent at 1,127.28 points, the index's lowest close in nearly two weeks.

Tokyo stocks tumbled, dropping for a second straight day today, on growing worries that the impact of the March 11 earthquake may be more severe than hoped for and as Japan put its nuclear crisis on par with Chernobyl.

The Nikkei fell 1.7 percent or 164.44 points to 9,555.26. The broader Topix index dropped 1.6 percent to 838.51.