Jim Chesko reporting...
Stocks plunge, oil prices tumble
Stocks finished broadly and sharply lower, with the Dow Industrials sliding 220 points and the Nasdaq Composite losing 87.
Oil prices tumbled today, tracking a selloff in the stock market, with some pressure tied to a stronger dollar and worries about energy demand. March crude slid $1.37 or 2.5% to settle at $52.64 a barrel.
A big decliner: Twitter, which skidded nearly 10%. It posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit but issued a weak outlook for the current quarter and announced plans to do away with the monthly-active user Metric.
Chipotle’s menu changes...some higher prices and restaurant investments helped drive better-than-expected sales and margins in the latest period, showing the company is continuing to move past food-safety scares in recent years that eroded customers’ trust.
The chain also says it’s planning to open a few dozen drive-thrus, which it’s calling “Chipotlanes.” Shares surged 11 ¼ percent.
