The Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.4 percent in April, while RealtyTrac Inc. reported a troubling rise in home foreclosures.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 184 points, or 2.2 percent, at 8,284.89.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 24.44, or 2.7 percent, at 883.91, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 51.73, or 3 percent, to 1,664.19.
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