The sharp fall in stocks on Wall Street yesterday was brought about by increasing anxiety about the weakening dollar and the growing US trade deficit.
At the close of trading, the Dow Jones was down 225.43 at 10,598.47, after falling by as much as 272.03 during the session. The Dow's decline, which amounted to 2 per cent, was its biggest point drop since it fell 235.53 on May 27th.
Broader stock indicators also fell sharply. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 27.94 to 1,307.58, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 65 to 2,821.15.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 10-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 697 up, 2,362 down and 492 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 785.33 million shares, against 564.95 million in the previous session.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 6.70 to 426.50.
"There's no panic selling," said Barry Berman, head trader for Robert Baird and Co in Milwaukee. "It has the feel of a market that was a little over-extended, given the background of uncertainty."
