The Dow has never lost more than 800 points in a day. On Friday, the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks as well as Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell into correction territory.
An index is considered to be in correction when it falls 10 percent from its 52-week high.
Just after 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 145 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were 14 and 34 points lower. The benchmark has lost all of its gains for 2015, though it is still more than 40 percent above its level a year ago. All stocks in the Dow were in the red. Apple shares last dropped below $100 in October 2014, four months after opening at $92.69 following a 7-for-1 split that took effect in June 2014. Stocks fell in early trading Monday in Asia as investors shaken by the sell-off last week on Wall Street unloaded shares in many sectors.
Oil majors Exxon (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N) fell about 6.6 percent.
Last week, U.S. stocks dipped sharply toward the end of the week, with Friday marking one of the worst declines in years.
“Investors are taking a safety first approach to the stock market given the potential for instability related to capital flight from emerging economies”, Ric Spooner, a market strategist for CMC Markets, said in a commentary.
U.S. stocks are likely to have another ugly day because of China’s ongoing stock market crash.
Oil prices, commodities and the currencies of many developing countries also tumbled on concerns that a sharp slowdown in China might hurt economic growth around the globe.
“It is a China driven macro panic”, said Didier Duret, chief investment officer at ABN Amro.
The Shanghai index suffered its biggest percentage decline since February 2007, with many China-listed companies hitting their 10 percent downside limits.
He also cautioned that some of the factors that could send the U.S. market far lower are unlikely – a big rise in unemployment, a spike in interest rates or inflation, or a banking crisis. The euro rose to $1.1450 from $1.388. “Speculators are selling assets that seem the most vulnerable”, said Takako Masai, head of research at Shinsei Bank in Tokyo.