Credit Fears Crush Wall Street

Updated from 4:09 p.m. EST

Stocks in New York sank Thursday as worries about margin calls and low-priced asset sales kept credit-related jitters alive, pressuring the financials and dragging down Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 214.60 points, or 1.8%, to 12,040.39, and the S&P 500 was off 29.36 points, or 2.2%, at 1304.34. The Nasdaq tumbled 52.31 points, or 2.3%, at 2220.50. The S&P and the Nasdaq haven't been this low since September 2006.

Breadth was very poor. About 4.06 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, with decliners beating advancers by a 9-to-1 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 2.16 billion shares as losers beat winners 4 to 1. ...