At midmorning, the Conference Board in New York said the leading indicator for the U.S. economy rose 0.3 percent in October, the seventh consecutive month of gains.
In early-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 148.58 points or 1.43 percent to 10,277.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 18.20 or 1.76 percent to 1,090.27. The Nasdaq composite index lost 44.62 or 2.03 percent to 2,148.52.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bill rose 10/32 to yield 3.331 percent.
The euro fell to $1.4897 from Wednesday's $1.496. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 88.84 yen from Wednesday's 89.37 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.32 percent, 127.33, to 9,549.47.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 1.39 percent, 74.43, to 5,267.70.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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