Update 4:10 p.m.: This post has been updated to reflect the close of the market on Wednesday.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by more than 500 points at one point on Wednesday, marking the second time the Dow has plummeted this much in less than a week.
On Friday, the Dow hit the lowest level recorded since September. Wednesday’s low of 15,450 marks a more than 10 percent decline since the beginning of the year. At the day’s close, the Dow was down 249 points hitting 15,766, a decline of 1.56 percent.
The S&P 500 declined 3 percent and the Nasdaq fell 3.2 percent while Treasury prices increased from 1.951 to 2.038 percent.
"The immediate catalyst is coming once more from the oil market, where Nymex crude oil has fallen under $27 a barrel, striking a fresh 12-year low," states the Wall Street Journal.
"The months long drop in oil the magnitude prices and renewed uncertainty about of the slowdown in China, the world’s second-largest economy, have dragged stocks sharply lower this year," the article states. "While many investors still expect the U.S. economy to expand this year, they’re increasingly watching for signs that a slowdown abroad could dampen growth in the U.S."
