Another tidal wave of selling slammed stocks and commodities on Wednesday as fears the global economy will fall into a recession continue to haunt Wall Street. 

Today's Market

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 514.45 points, or 5.69%, to 8519.21, the broader S&P 500 fell 58.26 points, or 6.10%, to 896.78 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 80.93 points, or 4.77%, to 1615.75. The consumer-friendly FOX 50 dropped 42.45 points, or 5.89%, to 678.26.

“You’ve really got the realization that the worldwide economy is slowing," said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. “Investors aren’t seeing anything as far as a light on the horizon or a reason they should be owning stocks."

Negativity continues to dominate Wall Street, and the markets never reached positive territory on Wednesday.

“Being optimistic has certainly not paid off for the last several weeks. The longer the weakness persists, the smaller the pool of optimists," said Michael James, senior equity trader at Wedbush Morgan Securities.

U.S. equities markets weren't the only ones feeling the pain as crude oil prices plummeted below $67 a barrel to hit fresh 2008 lows, and major global stock markets from Hong Kong to London all plunged about 5% a piece. Global currencies were also slammed, sending the dollar higher and commodities reeling. 

“I think the commodities are telling us that we are in a recession," said Anthony Conroy, head trader at BNY ConvergEx.

It's worth noting that the markets closed off their session lows and trading volume was lighter than usual. The New York Stock Exchange saw about 1.5 billion shares change hands, lower than the average day's 1.6 billion. 

The latest selloff pushed the blue-chip index well below the 9000 level and just 700 points away from the lowest levels of the year. The markets continue to see nearly unprecedented volatility, ending with triple-digit moves in one direction or the other in each of the last six trading sessions and for the 14th time out of the past 15 days. 

All 30 stocks on the Dow closed in the red, led by aluminum titan Alcoa (AA) and ExxonMobil (XOM). Verizon (VZ) and Disney (DIS) also ended sharply lower. In fact, all blue-chip stocks except McDonald's (MCD)and Coca-Cola (KO) ended down by at least 2%. 

The Nasdaq Composite fared better than the broader market, but still slid almost 5%. The losses came despite better-than-expected quarterly results from heavyweights Apple (AAPL) and Yahoo! (YHOO). 

Fears Bolstered by Earnings

Economic worries were reinforced mixed earnings reports. 

Out of the four blue-chip companies reporting, defensive stocks Merck (MRK) and McDonald's (MCD) both beat expectations. But telecom AT&T (T) and defense giant Boeing (BA) disappointed with their results. 

Among the other major companies reporting results on Wednesday, ConocoPhilips (COP) beat the Street, Wachovia (WB) widely missed expectations and drug maker Wyeth (WYE) matched estimates. 

After the closing bell online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN) will be in the spotlight as its earnings report is due out.

Crude Sinks to Fresh Lows

Global recession fears were most evident in the currency and commodities markets as crude oil prices tumbled and the dollar soared against rivals. 

The price of a barrel of oil tumbled below $67 a barrel -- a level unseen since June 2007 -- on worries a weaker global economy will significantly hurt demand. Crude ended down $5.43 to $66.75 a barrel. 

“It’s a double-edged sword. It’s nice for the consumer, but what does it say about the economy?" NSYE trader Dave Henderson of Raven Securities told FOX Business. 

Oil came under fire after the government reported a larger-than-expected rise of 3.2 million barrels in crude inventories last week and a 4.3% decline in gasoline demand from a year ago. 

Energy stocks felt the pain from the lower oil prices, diving another 10%. The losses were even steeper for energy names like Halliburton (HAL) and Consul Energy (CNX). 

The slide in oil comes even as OPEC is slated to convene an emergency summit later this week and possibly cut production. Oil has lost more than half of its value since soaring to all-time highs of $147 a barrel in July.  

Commodities have also been under pressure from a stronger greenback. The euro slumped more than 1% against the dollar to fresh lows of $1.2736. Also, the British pound plunged to $1.6138, a level not seen since September 2003. Global currencies have tumbled in recent weeks as it has become clear the U.S. economy won't be the only one slowing down. 

“It's not a higher dollar story. It’s more of a worldwide currency slump," said Sparks of Schaeffer's. 

Corporate Movers

General Motors (GM) is looking to outside investors for a major capital injection as a possible alternative to a merger with Chrysler LLC, the Financial Times reported. The auto maker is seeking an investment similar to the ones made by Warren Buffett in General Electric (GE) and Goldman Sachs (GS). GM said Wednesday it is exploring the potential sale of ACDelco, its global parts business. 

Boeing (BA) reported a decline in quarterly profit thanks to a month-long strike. The defense giant's net earnings of 96 cents per share missed expectations of $1.02 per share. Revenues slid 7% to $15.3 billion. 

Wachovia (WB) posted a loss of $23.9 billion in the third quarter thanks to a $19 billion writedown. The bank, which was acquired by Wells Fargo (WFC) last month, lost $2.23 per share on an adjusted-basis, missing estimates of a loss of just 2 cents per share. 

McDonald's (MCD) beat the Street with an 11% jump in third-quarter earnings to $1.05 per share. Analysts expected 98 cents per share. Revenue rose 6% to $6.27 billion, topping expectations. 

AT&T (T) missed analyst estimates with its third-quarter profit and lowered its full-year margin forecast. The telecom's adjusted-earnings of 67 cents per share was shy of the 71 cents analysts had expected. AT&T's revenue grew 4%, meeting Wall Street's expectations. 

Apple (AAPL) saw its shares jump after reporting better-than-expected earnings of $1.26 per share thanks to sales of nearly 7 million iPhones. Apple's revenue jumped 27% to $7.9 billion. 

Yahoo! (YHOO) announced plans to cut at least 10% of its global work force and beat the Street with an adjusted-profit of 9 cents per share in the third quarter. 

SanDisk (SNDK) plummeted to its lowest level in five years after Samsung withdrew its $26-a-share buyout bid after six months without a deal. 

Moody’s (MCO) and Standard & Poor’s parent McGraw-Hill (MHP) saw their shares dive after lawmakers in Washington criticized the role of ratings firms in the credit crisis. 

Coventry Health Care (CVH) lost half of its market value after the health insurer reported significantly weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings of 58 cents per share and sharply reduced its 2008 earnings forecast.  

Northrop Grumman (NOG), the third-largest U.S. defense contractor, boosted its full-year earnings forecast and posted a better-than-expected adjusted-profit of $1.51 per share.