Stocks extend slide after Fed comments

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks extended their slide after the Federal Reserve said it could start scaling back its economic stimulus program later this year and end it by the middle of next year.

Comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in a press conference prompted stock and bond markets to slump Wednesday, and the wave of selling continued in global markets today. Gold led a plunge in commodity prices and the dollar rose against other currencies.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 141 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,971 after the first half-hour of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 14 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,614. The Nasdaq composite fell 31 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,412.

The Federal Reserve is buying $85 billion worth of bonds every month to hold down interest rates and encourage borrowing. The stimulus has been a major support for the economy and helped drive a rally in stocks that pushed the Dow and the S&P 500 to record levels this year.