August 4, 2011

The stock market is finishing its worst day since the financial crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 500 points Thursday. Investors are concerned that the U.S. economy will enter another recession and that Europe's debt problems are not closed to being solved.

Major stock indexes fell more than 4 percent. The Dow is closing with a loss of 513 points, or 4.3 percent, to 11,384. It was the worst day for the Dow since Dec. 1 2008. The S&P 500 is down 60, or 4.8 percent, to 1,200. The Nasdaq is down 137, or 5.1 percent, to 2,556.

Twenty stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was very heavy at 7.5 billion shares

Asian stock markets are tumbling amid fears the U.S. may be heading back into recession and Europe's debt crisis is worsening.

The sell-off in Asia on Friday follows the biggest one-day decline on Wall Street since the 2008 financial crisis.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average slid 3.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dived 4.4 percent. Taiwan's benchmark fell nearly 5 percent and Australia's market shed 4.1 percent.