Roundup: U.S. stocks plunge amid oil weakness, Fed Beige Book

U.S. stocks suffered big losses Wednesday on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, while renewed pressure on oil prices continued to weigh on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 364.81 points, or 2.21 percent, to 16,151.41. The S&P 500 shed 48.40 points, or 2.50 percent, to 1,890.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 159.85 points, or 3.41 percent, to 4,526.06.

After rising more than 3 percent in early trading, oil prices ended mixed Wednesday, with the Brent crude briefly trading below 30 U.S. dollars a barrel for the first time since April 2004, as data showed that U.S. gasoline and diesel stockpiles surged for a second consecutive week.

The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery moved up 4 cents to settle at 30.48 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 55 cents to close at 30.31 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

On Tuesday, the U.S. oil traded below 30 dollars a barrel for the first time since December 2003. U.S. oil has tumbled about 17 percent since the start of the year, dragged lower by a global supply glut and a stronger U.S. dollar.

On the economic front, according to the Beige Book released Wednesday afternoon, U.S. economic activity expanded in nine of the country's 12 districts from late November to early January.

However, several Districts reported negative impact of a stronger dollar on demand, while some noted that low energy prices have had a smaller, mixed effect, the Beige Book said.

Overseas, Chinese stocks suffered a deep dive despite stronger-than-expected trade data on Wednesday, breaching the 3,000-point psychological barrier. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.42 percent to close at 2,949.6 points.

European equities pared early gains to close mixed Wednesday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched down 0.25 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.54 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 12.24 percent to end at 25.22 Wednesday.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies Wednesday as no major economic data came out.

In late New York trading, the euro moved up to 1.0875 dollars from 1.0856 dollars in the previous session. The dollar bought 117.84 Japanese yen, higher than 117.59 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Wednesday on a weaker U.S. dollar and short covering.

The most active gold contract for February delivery added 1.9 dollars, or 0.18 percent, to settle at 1,087.10 dollars per ounce. Enditem