Investing.com - Wall Street slumped on Thursday amid ongoing concerns over the global economy, as the European Commission slashed growth forecasts and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) posted disappointing earnings.
The S&P 500 fell 17 points, or 0.64%, as of 9:31 AM ET (14:31 GMT), while the Dow lost 171 points, or 0.68%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite decreased 66 points, or 0.90%.
The European Commission lowered its growth forecast for the three biggest economies in the eurozone this year, highlighting a slowdown in China and spillovers from that country's trade conflict with the U.S.
The forecasts contrasted sharply to a drop in weekly jobless claims in the U.S., suggesting that economy is stable.
Technology stocks slumped after Twitter forecast first-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates, according to Refinitiv, and reported a drop in users for the fourth quarter. Twitter was down 10%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) dipped 1.7% and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) declined 1.8%, while Snap (NYSE:SNAP) tumbled 4%.
Elsewhere, SunTrust (NYSE:STI) jumped 11% after news that it was merging with BB&T (NYSE:BBT) in an all-stock merger worth $66 billion. The deal would make it the sixth-largest bank in the U.S. by assets.
And videogame stocks recovered, with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) up 1.7% and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) gaining 3%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.06% to $1,313.55 a troy ounce, while crude oil decreased 1.3% to $53.31 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.08% to 96.232.