Stocks plunge; S&P 500 is down 10 percent from November peak

A bad start to 2016 for the stock market just got even worse.

Stocks plunged Wednesday, bringing the widely watched Standard & Poor's 500 index down 10 percent from its November peak.

The last time the market had a plunge that big, known as a "correction" on Wall Street, was last August.

Energy and consumer stocks bore the brunt of the selling. With crude oil trading near $30 a barrel, many fear more oil and gas companies will go bankrupt.

Netflix and Amazon, the market's two biggest winners last year, took a beating.

The Dow Jones industrial average sank 364 points, or 2.2 percent, to 16,151.

The S&P 500 lost 48 points, or 2.5 percent, to 1,890.

The Nasdaq composite dropped 159 points, or 3.4 percent, to 4,526.

By Alex Veiga, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Gayly - 1/13/2016 @ 3:23 p.m. CST