U.S. stocks plummeted quickly on Wall Street after the Labor Day holiday following sharp downturns in Asia and Europe, UPI reported. Traders are facing a backdrop of uncertainty. On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said the unemployment rate was unchanged in August, holding steady at 9.1 percent. European and Asian stocks plunged Tuesday on fears Europe's debt crisis was out of control. British, German and French stock indexes fell about 2 percent in early-morning trading following drops in Asian markets. In late-afternoon trading Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was down 2.21 percent, giving up 193.89 points to 8,590.57. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down about 1 percent and Australia's Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 index was down more than 2 percent. In midmorning trading in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 297.21 points, 2.64 percent, to 10,943.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 32.96 points, 2.81 percent, to 1,141.01. The Nasdaq composite index lost 2.51 percent, 62.15 points, to 2,418.18. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 14/32 to yield 1.943 percent. The euro fell to $1.4035, while the dollar rose to 77.15 yen. The price of gold -- considered a safe haven at times of uncertainty -- jumped about $25 a troy ounce to more than $1,901 a troy ounce. Crude oil was down nearly $1.89 a barrel to about $84.56 a barrel.
