Dow Plunges 419

Recession worries home and abroad made for a miserable day on Wall Street, reports MarketWatch. At one point, the Dow was down nearly 530 points, though it recovered some. The grim numbers:

• Dow: Fell 419 (3.7%) to 10,991
• Nasdaq: Down 131 (5.2%) to 2,380
• S&P 500: Down 53 (4.5%) to 1,141

“European markets came down very hard even before ours opened," says one market analyst. "This is sovereign debt worries. It’s one of those days when investors are focusing on all the bad news.” Not helping: US jobless claims rose, as did consumer prices, and the Philly Fed said factory activity shrank. Investors seeking safety once again sent gold to a record high, this time near $1,830 an ounce, notes the Wall Street Journal. (More stock market stories.)