Dow Plunges More Than 500 Points as Weak Manufacturing Data Fuels Slowdown Fears

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Sept. 3 and continued to slide in trading during the day as weak manufacturing reports and a decline in construction spending fanned fears of an economic slowdown. The benchmark S&P 500 was about 1.8 percent lower by around 2 p.m. New York time, having shed around 100 points to 5,549 points, putting it on track for its worst day in nearly a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid by more than 550 points, or by about 1.4 percent, to 40,991 points, a retreat from its own record set on Friday before Monday’s Labor Day holiday. The Nasdaq composite was down by about 334 points, at 17,227....