NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street suffered a dizzying fall Thursday, following global stock markets amid the looming threat of a worldwide economic slowdown and a Russian economic collapse.
According to preliminary data, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 357.36 points, or 4.2 percent, to 8,165.99. It was the blue chip index's worst one-day point fall so far this year and the third worst in its history.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declines trounced advances 2,885 to 354 in extremely heavy trading volume of 943 million shares.
The Nasdaq Composite slid 81.74, or 4.6 percent, to 1,686.38, its second-worst one-day point decline ever. The S&P 500 index fell 41.68, or 3.8 percent, to 1,042.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 14.32, or 3.8 percent, to 2,830.78 and the Dow transports index shed 114.56, or 3.9 percent, to 2,830.78.
Bonds rallied as international investors sought the quality and safety of U.S. government debt. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond roared 22/32 of a point in price, bringing the yield down to a record low 5.37 percent.
The dollar fell against the Japanese yen and the German mark, hurt by the stock market's meltdown. 
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