Dow Falls 785 Points as Wall Street Reacts to Market Uncertainty

U.S. stocks finished lower Thursday as investors continued reacting to economic uncertainty and global developments affecting financial markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 785 points, or 1.61%, ending the day at 47,954.74. Earlier in the trading session, the Dow had fallen more than 1,100 points before recovering some of those losses in afternoon trading.

Two of the largest-weighted companies in the Dow helped drive the decline. Shares of Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar each dropped more than 3.5%, putting significant downward pressure on the index.

The broader market saw smaller declines.

The S&P 500 finished the day at 6,830.71, down 0.56%, while the Nasdaq closed at 22,748.99, slipping 0.26%.

Market analysts say the sharper decline in the Dow compared with the other indexes reflects the impact of its heavily weighted industrial and financial stocks, which were hit harder during Thursday’s trading.

Despite the losses, the afternoon rebound helped limit what could have been an even steeper drop, signaling that some investors stepped in to buy stocks after the early selloff.

Wall Street continues to monitor global developments, economic indicators, and energy markets as investors try to gauge where the market may head next.

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