Stocks declined sharply Wednesday, the biggest drop in six weeks, after heightened concerns for global economic recovery led investors to sell stocks and riskier assets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 265 points, or 2.5 percent, to 10,379, with all 30 Dow components in the red.
The Nasdaq Composite fell even further, plunging 69 points, or three percent to 2,209, and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index shed 31.57 points, or 2.82 percent, to 1,089.
The declines were the fourth drop in five sessions.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) which gauges fear in markets, was up 13.68 percent amid renewed concerns over the pace of global growth.
The steep decline came a day after the Federal Reserve announced it was keeping short-term interest rates at a record low, saying the “pace of the economic recovery is likely to be more modest in the near term than had been anticipated.”