Dow drops as much as 400 on weak retail sales

Volatility battered Wall Street again Wednesday after a disappointing retail sales report reminded investors that the country is either in a recession or moving toward one. The Dow Jones industrials dropped nearly 400 points, giving back a chunk of their huge 936-point advance from Monday, and all of the major indexes were down at least 3 percent.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 387.49, or 4.16 percent, to 8,923.50 after dropping as much as 402 points. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 49.24, or 4.93 percent, to 948.77, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 69.33, or 3.90 percent, to 1,709.68.

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