Stocks fall sharply as investors' gloom grows

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks and interest rates tumbled today as investors around the world took a bleaker view of the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 240 points and all the major indexes fell more than 2 percent. The yield on the Treasury's 10-year note fell to its lowest level since March 2009 as investors sought the safety of government securities.

Companies across a wide range of industries dropped today. Only 348 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while 2,639 fell, a sign that investors expect all businesses to suffer if the economy continues to weaken.

Investors' gloom deepened a day after the Federal Reserve said it would begin buying government bonds as a way to stimulate the economy. Stocks began their plunge in Japan, where the Nikkei stock average fell 2.7 percent, and heavy selling followed in Europe and then the U.S.

Stock traders tend to buy and sell based on their expectations for what business will be like in six to nine months. The problem for investors is that economic data has been so muddled lately that they have no sense of whether the recovery will hold.