India, Feb. 27 -- Stocks once again failed to sustain an early upward move and came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Unlike the previous session, however, the major averages extended the pullback as the day progressed, closing sharply lower.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss, plunging 530.84 points or 2.8 percent to a nearly four-month closing low of 18,544.41.
The S&P 500 also slumped 94.49 points or 1.6 percent to a one-month closing low of 5,861.57, while the narrower Dow fell 193.62 points or 0.5 percent to a one-month closing low of 43,239.50.
Stocks initially benefited from a positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected fourth quarter r...