NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 592.58 points, or 1.20 percent, to 48,908.72. The S&P 500 sank 84.32 points, or 1.23 percent, to 6,798.4. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 363.993 points, or 1.59 percent, to 22,540.586.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with materials and consumer discretionary leading the laggards by going down 2.75 percent and 2.59 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer staples and utilities led the gainers by rising 0.25 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively.
