Stocks tumble
to 5-month low

U.S. stocks hit a five-month low today amid concerns about a slowdown in the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 198.41 points, or 1.93 percent, to end at 10,080.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 19.43 points, or 1.67 percent, to close at 1,142.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 38.56 points, or 1.98 percent, to finish at 1,908.15.

The Dow and the S&P 500 are both down about 6 percent this year. The Nasdaq has fallen 12 percent.

"What we're looking at is a giving up of hope on the part of investors," Joseph Keating, chief investment officer of the asset management group at AmSouth Bank, told Reuters.

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IBM was down 8 percent to $76.70, one day after reporting lower-than-expected earnings, prompting another sell-off on Wall Street.

Keating said it's clear the economy is "downshifting because of the persistently high level of oil prices over the last year and the raising of short-term interest rates."

"That's really the issue," he told Reuters. "There needs to be recognition on the part of the Federal Reserve that they will pause before the year end (in raising rates) and not force the economy into a recession."