(Reuters) – US stocks tumbled 2 percent minutes after the opening on Wednesday due to a record drop in retail sales and bleak reports for the first quarter results, boosting expectations for the largest economic decline since the 1930s.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 349.04 points, or 1.46 percent to 23600.72 points, and the S&P 500 index opened 50.42 points, or 1.77 percent, to record 2795.64 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 159.78 points, or 1.88 percent to 8355.96 points.