Stocks Plummet in Worldwide Selloff

After 3 days of good news, stocks took a plunge today. “There’s a whole litany of negative news,” said one analyst. “Bodies keep washing ashore" from the subprime crisis. The Dow lost 143.39 to close at 13,305.47, with the S&P 500 down 17.13 to 1,472.29 and the Nasdaq falling 24.29 to 2,605.95, drops mirrored by European and Asian stocks.

All 10 industry groups in the S&P fell after two days of optimism following the Fed’s promise to remain active, Bloomberg reports. The index fluctuated by more than a percent for the sixth day in a row. That volatility pushed US Treasuries up as investors sought low-risk bonds. Meanwhile, August’s job growth numbers were the slowest in 4 years. (More stocks stories.)