Wall Street slides, joining worldwide trend

NEW YORK, New York -In a day marked by widespread declines, major stock indices around the globe closed lower on Thursday, impacted by economic concerns and investor caution. Market volatility drove significant movement, particularly in technology-heavy and growth-sensitive sectors. Here's a summary of the closing performance for key indices:

The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped by 108.22 points, or 1.86 percent, ending the session at 5,705.45, with a high trading volume of approximately 3.269 billion shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also experienced a loss, down 378.08 points, or 0.90 percent, closing at 41,763.46 on a volume of 497.466 million shares.

The NASDAQ Composite suffered a sharper decline, tumbling 512.78 points, or 2.76 percent, to close at 18,095.15 with a substantial trading volume of 5.619 billion.

The NYSE Composite followed suit, closing 177.32 points lower at 19,238.95, representing a 0.91 percent drop, while the NYSE AMEX Composite Index fell by 30.43 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 5,226.70.

Across the Atlantic, the Cboe UK 100 slipped 5.06 points, a 0.62 percent decline, ending at 813.47. In European markets, the DAX Performance Index in Germany closed down by 179.80 points, or 0.93 percent, at 19,077.54. France's CAC 40 shed 77.99 points, a 1.05 percent drop, finishing at 7,350.37. The broader Euronext 100 Index declined by 13.12 points or 0.90 percent to close at 1,445.49.

In Asia, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closed at 20,317.33, losing 63.31 points or 0.31 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 196.14 points, or 0.50 percent, closing at 39,081.25. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was down 20.40 points, or 0.25 percent, finishing at 8,160.00, while the S&P BSE SENSEX in India dropped by 553.12 points or 0.69 percent, closing at 79,389.06.

Currency indices showed mixed performance. The US Dollar Index fell slightly by 0.10 points, or 0.10 percent, to end at 103.89. The British Pound Currency Index slid 0.69 points, or 0.53 percent, closing at 128.97, while the Euro Currency Index rose by 0.23 points, or 0.22 percent, ending at 108.82. The Japanese Yen Currency Index gained 0.56 points, representing an increase of 0.86 percent to close at 65.76, and the Australian Dollar Currency Index edged up by 0.05 points or 0.08 percent to end at 65.82.

Commodities and currency fluctuations amid economic shifts contributed to Thursday's market reactions, signaling investor caution as economic uncertainties continue to play out globally.