Stock slump continues on Wall Street
Uncertainty about Federal Reserve's commitment to economic stimulus sends markets lower
FILE - In this Thursday, May 2, 2013, file photo, Trader John Liotti works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Japanese stocks plummeted Thursday May 23, 2013 after a spike in government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing spooked investors sitting atop months of massive gains in share prices. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) -- A global stock market slump is continuing on Wall Street as traders worry about how committed the Federal Reserve remains to keeping up its bond-buying program.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 112 points to 15,191 in early trading Thursday, or 0.7 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 16 points to 1,638, or 1 percent. The Nasdaq fell 29 points to 3,433, or 0.8 percent.
Stocks were down 2.7 percent in Germany and 2.6 percent in France. Japan's Nikkei plunged 7 percent but is still up 39 percent this year.
Investors were spooked by minutes from the latest Fed meeting indicating that several policymakers are leaning toward slowing the central bank's bond-buying program, which has been keeping interest rates low and encouraging investors to buy risky assets like stocks.
