The Dow's 'scary' collapse: 6 theories

Stocks took their sharpest drop in more than two years on Thursday. What caused the panic?

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, when the stock market had its worst one-day plunge in years.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Financial markets sank around the world early Friday after U.S. stocks went into a "scary" nosedive on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 513 points. It was the biggest percentage drop — the Dow was down 4.3 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.8 percent, and the Nasdaq 5.1 percent — since the dark days of the 2008 financial crisis. What caused the collapse? Here are six possible culprits:

1. Wall Street hates the debt deal

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