Wall Street's bleeding escalated on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 to an 11-year low and crude oil prices plummeting below $50 a barrel. 

Fueled by growing economic fears, plunging financials, and the specter of a collapse of the U.S. auto industry, the latest selloff marks Wall Street's steepest two-day percentage drop since October 1987.

Today’s Market

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 444.99 points, or 5.56%, to 7552.29, the broader S&P 500 lost 54.14 points, or 6.71%, to 752.44 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 70.30 points, or 5.07%, to 1316.12. The consumer-friendly FOX 50 fell 35.60 points, or 5.67%, to 591.77.

Amid the worst financial crisis in nearly a century, the widely-watched S&P 500 has now lost more than 50% of its value since hitting all-time highs just over a year ago. 

The latest damage came on a day when lawmakers said the Big Three automakers won't be receiving a bailout any time soon. In addition, a new report showed jobless claims soared to 16-year highs and Citigroup (C) lost one-quarter of its market value for the second session in a row. 

“I have no idea where stocks go from here. I don’t know if it’s the end of a decline or the start” of a new wave down, said Peter Boockvar, equities strategist at Miller Tabak. “I do think we are close to a bear market bounce, I just don’t know if it’s going to be from 750 [on the S&P] or 700.”

Thursday's selloff was backed up by heavy volume on the New York Stock Exchange, which saw more than 2.2 billion shares change hands. 

The latest losses only add to Wall Street's woes as the Dow has lost 19% of its value this month. November is shaping up so far as worse than October. 

“We have an awful lot of economic data that tells us day after day that it keeps getting worse and worse.,” NYSE trader Doreen Mogavero of Mogavero, Lee & Co. told FOX Business.

All but one of the 30 stocks on the Dow ended in the red, led by double-digit plunges from Citi, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), General Electric (GE) and aluminum maker Alcoa (AA). Ironically, General Motors (GM) was the lone advancing stock on the Dow.

It’s clear cash continues to flee to the relative safety of short-term government debt as the 2-year note plunged below 1% for the first time in history on Thursday.

Not to be outdone by the drama on Wall Street, crude oil prices plummeted below $50 a barrel to hit new three-year lows. Crude ended in the red for the fifth consecutive day, settling at 49.62 a barrel, down $4.

Markets Plunge as Bailout Hopes Evaporate

Wall Street was paralyzed by the uncertainty hovering over the Big Three automakers: GM, Ford (F) and privately-held Chrysler LLC. Stocks rose during afternoon trading on hopes a compromise would be reached to send billions of dollars in emergency loans to the automakers. 

That euphoria proved fleeting as it became clear no resolution would be reached until next month at the earliest. Auto execs unsuccessfully argued they urgently need cash to avoid bankruptcy filings that could be disastrous to the economy. 

"Until they show us a plan, we cannot show them the money," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference. 

The conflicting headlines on the auto bailout had a dizzying effect on the car makers' shares. GM closed higher after plunging as much as 40% and touching 70-year lows.

Financial Meltdown Continues

The sector that has led the market down through much of this downturn faltered once again on Thursday, as financial stocks lost 10% of their value for the second consecutive day. 

All eyes were on Citigroup (C), which lost one-quarter of its crumbling market value for the second day in a row despite receiving a vote of confidence from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who upped his stake to 5%. Alwaleed is also a major shareholder in News Corp. (NWS), the parent of FOX Business.

Responding to the plunge in the company's shares, Citi execs are lobbying lawmakers and the Securities and Exchange Commission to revive the ban on short-selling of financial stocks, The Wall Street Journal reported. Citi wasn't alone as Goldman Sachs (GS), Merrill Lynch (MER) and Bank of America (BAC) all hit fresh 52-week lows. 

More Economic Doom and Gloom

Wall Street was given another reminder of the weak economy after the government said initial jobless claims unexpectedly soared by 27,000 to 542,000 last week -- the highest level since July 1992. The Labor Department also said continuing claims, filed by individuals out of work for more than a week, surged by 109,000 to eclipse the 4 million mark for the first time since 1982. 

Fears were also bolstered by the Conference Board's leading economic indicators index, which declined by a worse-than-expected 0.8% in October. Also, the Philly Fed said its manufacturing index plunged to its lowest level since October 1990 in this month. 

Corporate Movers

General Electric (GE) denied reports that it is talks with sovereign wealth funds, including the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., to become stockholders and project partners with the company. GE said it is not in talks to raise capital via global investment funds or sovereign wealth funds. 

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is slashing roughly 3,000 jobs, or roughly 10% of its investment banking staff, sources confirmed to FOX Business. 

Ambac Financial (ABK) soared after the bond insurer said it reached a deal to tear up $3.5 billion of its exposure to risky mortgage-backed debt by agreeing to pay $1 billion up front.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) touched 13-year lows after the bookseller issued a worse-than-expected quarterly loss and cut its full-year view. The company lost 21 cents per share, missing estimates by 5 cents and also scaled back its store opening plans for 2009.

GMAC, the finance arm co-owned by General Motors (GM) and Chrysler LLC’s parent, has filed an application with the Fed to become a bank holding company. The move paves the way for GMAC to receive government rescue funds.

World Markets

European markets led the way down on Thursday as London's FTSE 100 was down 2.3% in recent trading, while Germany's DAX was down 2.9% and France's CAC fell 3.2%.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei plunged 6.9% to close below the 8,000-point mark and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 4% to end below 13,000.