Thursday's afternoon trade: Wall Street sinks

US stocks sank on Thursday as data fuelled worries the economy was weakening and bank shares tumbled on fears the European financial crisis could spread havoc to other parts of the world. The losses extended a slide in stocks that began in late July, with the S&P 500 now off 15.7 percent from its April 29 highs, as economic worries both here and abroad have caused investors to exit risky assets.
In the broad selloff, sectors associated with growth were also hit hard. Top drags on the Dow included shares of IBM, down 4.8 percent at $163.25 and United Technologies, down 5.3 percent at $68.21. On the Nasdaq, shares of Oracle fell 7.8 percent to $25.34. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 398.55 points, or 3.49 percent, at 11,011.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 48.11 points, or 4.03 percent, at 1,145.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 110.18 points, or 4.39 percent, at 2,401.30.