Stock Market Takes a Beating

A bad start to 2016 for the stock market got even worse. Stocks plunged Wednesday, bringing the widely watched Standard & Poor's 500 index down 10% from its November peak. The last time the market had a plunge that big, known as a "correction" on Wall Street, was last August. The S&P 500 lost 48 points, or 2.5%, to 1,890 Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 364 points, or 2.2%, to 16,151. The Nasdaq composite dropped 159 points, or 3.4%, to 4,526.

Energy and consumer stocks bore the brunt of the selling. With crude oil trading near $30 a barrel, many fear more oil and gas companies will go bankrupt. Netflix and Amazon, the market's two biggest winners last year, took a beating. (More Dow Jones stories.)