Dow Plunges 242 on Japan Anxiety

Street worries about nuclear catastrophe
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 16, 2011 3:11 PM CDT
Dow Plunges 242 on Japan Anxiety
Bay Crest Partners traders, with similar haircuts, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, March 16, 2011.   (AP Photo)

Fears that a nuclear reactor in Japan may be in the midst of a partial meltdown is shaking financial markets. Stock indexes lost 2% and gave up nearly all of their gains for the year today. All 10 company groups that make up the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 242 points to 11,613. It was the biggest drop for the index since August 11. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 25 to 1,257, and Nasdaq fell 51 to 2,617. (More Dow Jones stories.)

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