NEW YORK: US stocks took a sharp plunge Thursday as fears over the contagion in the eurozone crisis trumped some mildly positive data on the US economy.
After reaching into positive territory halfway through the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 134.86 points (1.13 percent) to 11,770.73.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 20.78 (1.68 percent) to 1,216.13, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 51.62 (1.96 percent) to 2,587.99.
More apparent deterioration in the eurozone situation kept a cloud on the market, analysts said.
"European debt concerns continued to dictate stocks' direction. Fears of contagion were reflected in the soaring bond yields across the eurozone," said Andrea Kramer of Schaeffer's Investment Research.
But analysts at Briefing.com also credited a shift in sentiment based on technical analysis issues, rather than any real news, for the midday sell-off.
"The market's rollover came after the S&P 500 failed to push back above a recent trendline that was set along the lower end of its recent trading range," they said.
Spikes in the borrowing costs for France and Spain overshadowed improvements in the US weekly initial jobless claims, which fell more than expected to their lowest level since April, and hopeful data on housing starts and building permits numbers.
Consumer review website Angie's List debuted on the Nasdaq after an initial public offering of 8.8 million shares, 16 percent of total stock.
Shares in the company, which offers subscribers reviews of service firms, ended at $16.26, 25.1 percent above the $13 IPO price.
Boeing shares fell 0.4 percent despite the announcement of a world-record aircraft order from Indonesia's Lion Air for 230 737 aircraft with a list price of $21.7 billion.
Banks fell after Fitch warned late Wednesday that the US financial sector faces potential deep damage if the eurozone crisis spreads further.
Citigroup was down 3.2 percent, JPMorgan Chase lost 3.1 percent, Goldman Sachs fell 3.4 percent and Morgan Stanley, 3.6 percent.
Among tech shares, Netflix lost 5.8 percent, Broadcom fell 5.9 percent, and Micron Technology lost 6.1 percent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.96 percent from 2.02 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year yield dropped to 2.96 percent from 3.06 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
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