The Dow Jones Industrials fell hard, losing 646.89 points, or 2%, to conclude a bruising Wednesday at 32,513.94. The decline was led by Disney, which fell 13.2% after the entertainment giant missed analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines
The S&P 500 plummeted 79.54 points, or 2.1%, to 3,748.57.
The NASDAQ plunged 263.02 points, or 2.5%, to 10,353.17.
Stocks fell to session lows during Wednesday afternoon trading as the price of bitcoin dropped to its lowest levels in roughly two years, weighing on overall risk sentiment and dragging down the tech sector.
Investors weighed a possible collapse of crypto exchange FTX after Binance said it’s backing out of plans to acquire the company.
Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose after the social media giant announced it will be laying off more than 11,000 workers.
Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was too optimistic about growth and now needs to streamline the company.
Stocks are coming off three straight days of gains into the election, where Wall Street was expecting Republicans to gain ground and block any future tax and spending plans.
But control of Congress was not clear. Media reports were not yet projecting control of the House of Representatives with one estimate suggesting Republicans could win 220 seats, which would be a narrow majority.
In one of the key races that could determine Senate control, Democrat John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz for the pivotal Senate seat in Pennsylvania, according to one projection. Oz had the backing of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsed candidates saw spotty levels of success across the country.
Critical Senate races in Georgia and Nevada were unresolved.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.09% from Tuesday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices capsized $3.31 to $85.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices spun lower $7.10 to $1,708.90 U.S. an ounce.