Stocks slide, weighed down by worries about banks and China: Stock market news today

News Snapshot:

Stocks sank on Tuesday, set to open in the red after surprisingly weak Chinese trade data and a warning about US bank health sent shivers through markets. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.5%, or 180 points. Meanwhile, those on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were both down around 0.5%. Optimism for a global economic recovery that could lift stocks took a hit Tuesday, after data showed a slump in Chinese imports and exports in July that was far worse than expected. The grim numbers signal that demand is still faltering, dimming...