Oil drops again to send markets tumblin

Falling crude oil prices sent the markets tumbling to a sharply lower close with the Dow plummeting 106 points to 17,320. Nasdaq plunged 68 points to 4,570.

On the upside

Rising gold prices lifted shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) and Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY).

McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX) reported record gold production in the fourth quarter.

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) reported sharply higher record earnings for the fourth quarter that surpassed analyst expectations.

On the downside

Fourth quarter earnings and revenue fell for Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Mizuho Securities downgraded Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) from a Buy rating to a Neutral rating.

Shares of JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) extended its losses.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 18 points to 1992. Bitcoin gained $31 to $199.