Only a month ago, it seemed that the U.S. economy had weathered the deepest recession in decades and was on the mend. How quickly the market has changed.
In a warning that the bull market could be over, stocks plummeted Thursday amid worries about Europe’s debt crisis and the U.S. economy’s shaky recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 376.76 points, or 3.6 percent, to close at 10,068.01. The Nasdaq shed 4.1 percent, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 3.9 percent.
Now, economists are using the word "correction," which typically refers to a 10 percent drop in stock prices. After Thursday’s plunge, the S&P 500 is down 11.6 percent from its April 26 peak of 1,212.05.
