The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 600 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lapsed into a correction on Wednesday as the sell-off in US stocks accelerated.

The losses wiped out gains for the year in both the S&P 500 Index and the Dow, as mixed corporate earnings and weak housing data fueled anxiety that rising prices will crimp economic growth.

The S&P 500 dropped 3.1 percent to 2,656.29 in New York, while the Dow slumped 2.4 percent to 24,584.71. The Nasdaq plunged 4.4 percent for its biggest single-day slide since August 2011. The tech-heavy measure is now down 12 percent from an August record, meeting the accepted definition of a correction.

The S&P extended its October rout to 8.8 percent, making it the worst month since February 2009. Disappointing earnings from AT&T and Texas Instruments drove declines in the communications and semiconductor groups, offsetting a promising outlook from Boeing.

“This is really off the walls,” said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities. “Nothing fundamentally changed during the day. I think it’s a technical breakdown. Look at the Nasdaq -- down 300 points.”

“Right now markets are still trying to reprice,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisor Alliance. “What’s happening with earnings is exaggerating market moves.”

Amid the flood of earnings, economic data continued to underwhelm, particularly on the rate-sensitive housing front.?New home sales?sank again, sending battered homebuilders lower. Fragile market sentiment is also working through reports that potential?bombs?were sent to former president Barack Obama, ?former secretary of state Hilary Clinton and the New York headquarters of CNN.

Bloomberg