Dow tumbles 525 points on Wednesday, setting up worst weekly slump since June as tech, energy fall

Stocks ended sharply lower Wednesday resuming a decidedly downward tilt on for Wall Street as a dearth of bullish factors gave way to a continuation of a sell-off for major benchmarks that commenced in earnest on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [: DJIA] fell 2% to close around 26,770, the S&P 500 index closed off 2.4% at 2,236, with the broad-market index flirting with a close near correction at 3,222.76. All of the S&P 500's 11 sectors finished sharply lower on the session, led by a 4.5% decline in energy and a 3.2% decline in the technology sector . Wednesday's losses bring the Dow and the S&P 500 on track to mark their worst weekly drops since late June. The Nasdaq Composite index closed of 3% at around 10,633, deepening its slump into correction, defined as a drop of at least 10% from a recent peak. All closing levels are on a preliminary level.

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