U.S. stocks plunge on Chinese stock market disarray

The New York Stock Exchange on January 7, 2015.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Dow Jones dropped almost 400 points Thursday after the Chinese stock market tumbled again. China's CSI 300 index dropped 7.2 percent in its first 30 minutes of trading Thursday morning, prompting the market to close and marking the shortest day in its 25-year history. In the U.S., the S&P 500 closed down nearly 2.4 percent, the Nasdaq dropped 3 percent, and crude oil prices hit the lowest levels in 12 years, CNN Money reports.

The Chinese market's emergency closure Thursday marks its second this week. The U.S. is on track for the worst four-day start to a year on record, according to FactSet stats dating back to 1897, with the Dow down 5 percent so far in 2016.

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