Stocks plummet today over economic worries

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones industrials plunged below 10,000 today as investors worried about a global economic slowdown and tensions between North and South Korea turned away from stocks.

The Dow fell 248.79, or 2.5 percent, to 9,817.78. It closed at 10,066 on Monday and has fallen 1,388 points, or more than 12 percent, from its recent high of 11,205, reached April 26.

With investors exiting stocks, oil and the euro, U.S. Treasury prices again surged. The perceived safety of U.S. government bonds pushed yields and interest rates lower. The benchmark 10-year note's yield fell to its lowest level since April 2009.

World stock markets were also sharply lower.