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Dow Drops Below 10,000
The world's most watched stockmarket index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, crashed through the 10,000 points level on Wednesday, shedding 114.69 points, or 1.14%, to close at 9975.02.
On what was being dubbed 'whiplash Wednesday' by traders, the Dow shed a massive 422 points, or 4.2%, during the first few minutes of trading, before recovering strongly.
At one stage, it dropped as low as 9,668 - a low not seen since April 1999 - but recovered later to about 9,923.
The initial plunge was so fast, it baffled even seasoned market watchers. In just two minutes of trading, the index shed more than 250 points.
Traders were divided on whether the market had bottomed out.
The opening drop was even worse on the technology heavy Nasdaq market, which saw its index plummet 184 points or 5.7% to 3,029 on opening.
The Nasdaq also recovered strongly but still closed 42.54 points down at 3171.42.
It had earlier soared 26 points higher than Tuesday's close. Analysts said it was the third heaviest trading day in Nasdaq's history.
Brokers said the battering of share prices was caused by investors worrying over the profit outlook for many US companies, which have been hit by high oil prices and a weak euro.
Market worries had first been triggered on Tuesday, by doubts over the earnings prospects of US computer giant IBM.
On stockmarkets around the world, investors were seen fleeing the technology sector and thus pushing down prices.
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