Stocks continue to slide

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks continued to selloff Tuesday as higher oil prices and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke troubled investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average (Charts) fell 0.3 percent in the opening minutes of trade.

The broader S&P 500 index (Charts) lost 0.4 percent, while the tech-fueled Nasdaq (Charts) eased nearly 0.6 percent.

Sending stocks lower were comments delivered Monday night by Bernanke, who said that the Fed's September rate cut has shown signs of success, but made no indication if the central bank would continue to lower rates.

He also issued a warning to Wall Street, saying the central bank can't "insulate investors from risk" and said weakness in the housing market would likely drag on growth through early next year.

Higher oil prices also troubled investors as crude prices rose 30 cents to $86.43 a barrel, after closing at a record high Monday. Earlier Tuesday, crude prices reached a new trading high of $87.97 a barrel.

Also weighing on stocks was news from wireless networks maker LM Ericsson (Charts) that its third-quarter sales, operating income and cash flow all would be lower than expected.

In other earnings news, Dow Jones industrial component Johnson & Johnson (Charts, Fortune 500) annnounced a decline in profits, but higher revenue. The company also raised its earnings guidance for the full year 2007.

Wells Fargo (Charts, Fortune 500) reported slightly higher earnings despite taking a writedown totaling nearly $500 million over mortgages that have lost value.

And air carrier Delta (Charts, Fortune 500) reported a jump in quarterly earnings, topping expectations, helped by higher sales.

Shares of Bear Stearns (Charts, Fortune 500) were little changed following reports that China Citric Bank is bidding for a stake in the battered Wall Street bank.

On the economic front, the National Association of Home Builder's monthly survey of builder confidence is due to be released at 1 p.m. ET. That index is expected to fall to an all-time low in its latest reading.

In global trade, markets in Asia finished the session lower, and European stocks retreated in midday trading. The dollar was higher against the euro but lower versus the yen.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.66 percent from 4.67 percent late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.