Stocks fell sharply on Thursday as strong earnings and economic data were not enough to quell jitters from higher interest rates on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average traded 800 points lower after opening just above the flatline. This is the third drop for the Dow greater than 500 points in the last five days. Despite the decline Thursday, the average is still a ways from its low for the week hit on Tuesday of 23,778.74. General Electric and Intel were the worst-performing stocks in the index, sliding more than 3 percent. J.P. Morgan Chase, meanwhile, was down by more than 2.5 percent.
The S&P 500 pulled back 2.9 percent after a higher open, with financials as the worst-performing sector. The index also broke below its 100-day moving average, a key technical level. For the S&P 500, it is its third drop of greater than 2 percent in the last 5 days. The Nasdaq composite fell 3.1 percent as Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft all fell at least 3 percent. READ MORE
