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The Dow tumbled Tuesday as part of a global sell-off in stocks fueled by further speculation that China will hike interest rates to fight inflation and renewed worries over the wobbly finances of Ireland, Portugal and Greece.

Stocks and commodities fell sharply Friday amid anxiety that China will hike interest rates to keep its economy from overheating. The Dow flirted with a triple-digit loss. Gold and oil prices likewise plunged.

Stocks fell sharply Tuesday after a surprise rate hike from China's central bank and mixed quarterly earnings reports led to heavy selling in technology, materials and energy stocks.

The stock is trading at $60 a share -- about where it was during the March 2009 market low. Even as oil has rebounded to $74 from $40 at that time, ExxonMobil languishes. That could soon change.

The weakening stock market has investors fleeing for safe havens, like bonds. But some companies have a lot of cash, high operating margins and stocks with high yields -- far better ones than most bonds currently.

Chevron's second-quarter earnings easily topped forecasts, but revenue came in lower than analysts expected. It recorded net income of $5.41 billion, or $2.70 a share, up from $1.75 billion, or 87 cents, in last year's second quarter.

Exxon Mobil's easily topped Wall Street forecasts in the second quarter, helped by a year-over-year jump in crude prices that allowed the world's largest publicly traded oil company to hike production. EPS hit $1.60, up from 81 cents a year ago.

The first peak week of reports was just what the market ordered, thanks to some beat-and-raise results from Dow blue chips. This week has more big names on tap. And again, jittery investors will be looking closely, especially for revenue growth. [With video]

The rumors continue to swirl: Will Exxon Mobil takeover BP. Will BP sell its Prudhoe Bay assets to U.S. oil company Apache for $10 billion.

ExxonMobil's fourth quarter earnings fell 23% year-over-year, marking Exxon's fifth straight decline in quarterly profit. However, the world's largest public oil company beat analysts expectations, and shares are rising in early trading.