Economy/Business News Alert: Stock markets plummet for second straight day, Dow closes down 3.5 percent

---------------------------------------- Economy/Business News Alert: Stock markets plummet for second straight day, Dow closes down 3.5 percent September 22, 2011 4:16:42 PM ---------------------------------------- U.S. stocks plummeted Thursday, mimicking the rest of the world's markets, with investors reacting to a dour outlook on the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve and fearing for the fate of European banks. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 390 points, or 3.5 percent, at one point diving more than 5 percent, in reaction to the Federal Reserve's announcement Wednesday that it sees "significant downside risks" to the economy. The Standard & Poor's 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes closed down a little more than 3 percent. All three indexes had been down at least 4.5 percent earlier in the afternoon but trimmed their losses before the close of the trading session. Global commodities were also down across the board, as the outlook for world economic growth -- particularly in China, the world's second-largest economy -- dimmed. Lower prices implied less demand for everything from oil to agricultural products to precious metals. Crude oil was down more than 7 percent to around $80 a barrel Thursday, and even gold, which has soared to new highs on concerns about economic stability, was down 3.8 percent to $1,737 an ounce. http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/2GZNC0/OJHVGA/GJBHWQ/Y9M5FE/Y3KUD/XL/h For more information, visit PostBusiness.com ---------------------------------------- Get The Washington Post app for iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch: http://itunes.com/apps/thewashingtonpost ---------------------------------------- Get breaking news alerts sent to your mobile phone. Sign up by texting NEWS to 98999. To unsubscribe, click here ---------------------------------------- ©2011 The Washington Post Company Washington Post Digital E-mail Customer Care 1150 15th Street NW Washington, DC 20071