Dow Drops 392 Points in Worst Start for More Than a Century

January 7, 2016, 4:24 PM ET

Wider Image: NYSE - Up Close and in Detail

A trader blows a chewing gum bubble as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell, in New York, June 15, 2015. Investors are braced for further reaction on world stock markets after Greece closed its banks and imposed capital controls on Sunday to check the growing strains on its crippled financial system, bringing the prospect of being forced out of the euro into plain sight. After bailout talks between the leftwing government and foreign lenders broke down at the weekend, the European Central Bank froze vital funding support to Greece's banks, leaving Athens with little choice but to shut down the system to keep the banks from collapsing. Across the Atlantic, photos of the hands, faces and expressions of traders at the New York Stock Exchange show the tension of tracking the markets and their reaction to fast-moving stories affecting investor sentiment. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY PICTURE 1 OF 30 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY "NYSE - UP CLOSE AND IN DETAIL". SEARCH "LUCAS EXPRESSIONS" FOR ALL IMAGES - RTX1I7O2Photograph by Lucas Jackson — Reuters

The S&P 500 posted its largest daily drop since September on Thursday as concerns over the health of the Chinese economy and a relentless slide in oil prices rattled investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 392.41 points, or 2.32 percent, to 16,514.1, the S&P 500 lost 47.17 points, or 2.37 percent, to 1,943.09 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 146.34 points, or 3.03 percent, to 4,689.43.

The Dow recorded its worst 4-day start to a year in more than a century.

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