US stocks fell sharply in early afternoon on Thursday as nervous investors bailed out of the market, after the S&P 500 broke a key technical level. There was no clear trigger for the sell-off. A number of sources cited talk about lack of progress in talks with the US "supercommittee" charged with dealing with the nation's debt problems. No specific news has been released.
Losses accelerated around 1,225 on the S&P 500, which was described as a key technical level. The S&P 500 lost 1.1 percent in a span of 10 minutes after breaking that level. Technology shares also dragged on the market, and the Nasdaq was down more than 2 percent at its session low. The S&P technology index dropped 2.5 percent while the S&P energy index fell 1.9 percent and the S&P materials index declined 2.5 percent. US crude futures prices slid more than 3 percent to $99.17 a barrel.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 144.78 points, or 1.22 percent, at 11,760.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 19.32 points, or 1.56 percent, at 1,217.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 49.44 points, or 1.87 percent, at 2,590.17.
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