US stocks sink, bond prices rise after weak forecast for global growth, drop in retail sales

Stocks are falling and bond prices are rising following some discouraging news on the U.S. economy and a weaker forecast of global growth.

The price of copper, a key commodity that's widely used in construction and manufacturing, slumped to a five-year low Wednesday.

The World Bank forecast that that global economic growth this year won't be as high as previously thought. The U.S. Commerce Department reported a drop in retail sales last month.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 220 points, or 1.3 percent, to 17,392 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 19 points, 0.9 percent, to 2,004. The Nasdaq composite fell 29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,631.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 1.82 percent.