US MARKETS CLOSED sharply lower today on fears that the world is heading towards another recession.

Concerns about a double-dip recession led to investors selling off stocks, while commodities also saw a rout.

Investors’ worries were compounded by weak data coming out of China today, says Reuters.

The Dow Jones industrial average hemorrhaged as much as 527 points, the second consecutive rout since the Federal Reserve announced a change in strategy for fighting the economic slowdown.

At the close of trading, the Dow was down 391.01 points, or 3.51 per cent, at 10,733.83. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 37.18, or 3.19 per cent, to 1,129.58. The Nasdaq composite fell 82.52, or 3.3 per cent, to 2,455.67.

Nineteen stocks fell for every one that rose as investors fled.

Traders sought the safety of Treasury bonds instead of the usual havens of oil and metal.

Gold, which has been seen as a type of security blanket lately, also dropped nearly 4 per cent. The Wall Street Journal said that the fall happened as investors looked to raise cash they had lost elsewhere.

Oil equities also sunk with Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Marathon Oil all down.

-Additional reporting by the AP

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