World stocks sink as economic outlook dims
Investors fled Wall Street in the worst stock-market selloff since the depths of the Great Recession in early 2009 in what has turned into a full-fledged correction.
The Dow and the S&P tumbled more than 4 percent on Thursday and the Nasdaq lost 5 percent on fear the United States is staring at another recession and that Europe's sovereign debt crisis is swallowing two of its largest economies.
The S&P 500's drop puts it more than 10 percent below its April 29 high, considered a correction. More than 13 billion shares changed hands, the busiest trading day in more than a year. Decliners beat advancers on the New York Stock Exchange by about 19 to 1.
The market's recent malaise stems from a number of factors. US economic data has worsened, suggesting slowing growth from already sluggish pace in the first half. Europe's sovereign debt crisis has defied remedies and threatens to engulf large euro-zone economies Spain and Italy.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 512.46 points, or 4.31 percent, at 11,383.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 60.21 points, or 4.78 percent, at 1,200.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 136.68 points, or 5.08 percent, at 2,556.39.
European stocks tumbled on Thursday, with a key index of blue chip companies from the euro zone dropping to a two-year low, as investors dumped equities across the board in response to sluggish global growth and Italy's debt troubles.
The euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 3.3 percent to 2,414.97 points, its lowest since mid-2009.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 3.3 percent lower at 993.35 points, plunging below the 1,000 mark for the first time in 12 months.
The Nikkei average came off five-week lows after Japan intervened in currency markets to stem the yen's climb and the central bank eased monetary policy, but gave up earlier gains as worries about the global economy dominated. The benchmark Nikkei rose 0.2 percent to 9,659.18, while the broader Topix shed 0.1 percent to 826.36.
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