[Updated at 3:04 p.m.] The Dow Jones industrial average recovered ground after plummeting 997 points in volatile trading.
The Dow quickly dropped from down 450 points to nearly 1,000 points in only a matter of minutes.
By 3:05 p.m the average took a sharp turn upwards and recovered at a similar pace and was just below 400 points.
[Updated at 2:55 p.m.] The Dow Jones industrial average lost as much as 997 points in volatile trading. At 2:50 p.m it was down 600 points, or 5%. The S&P 500 index slipped 63 points, or 5.4%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 127 points, or 5.3%.
"It's a knee-jerk reaction to the continued problems in Europe, Greece in particular, possibly Portugal, Spain, the U.K.," said Ted Weisberg, NYSE Floor trader, Seaport Securities.
[Posted at 2:52 p.m.] The Dow was free-falling Thursday afternoon as investors continued to worry that Europe's debt problems will slow a bigger global economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost as much as 570 points in volatile trading. At 2:45 p.m it was down 480 points, or 4.4% lower. The S&P 500 index (SPX) slipped 32 points, or 2.8%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 78 points, or 3.3%.
At one point, over the span of about two minutes, the Dow went from down more than 400 points to down about 900 points.
Reporters on the trading floor reported that traders and specialists were staring at the board as the numbers continued to drop and are now hustling to figure out what is going on.
Source : CNN
