1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks plummet on global rout, diving oil

U.S. stocks slumped amid downbeat data Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index below the psychologically key 16,000 level, as a heavy sell-off in Asian and European markets and a plunge in oil prices rattled nervous investors.

The Dow tumbled 390.97 points, or 2.39 percent, to 15,988.08. The S&P 500 slid 41.55 points, or 2.16 percent, to 1,880.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 126.59 points, or 2.74 percent, to 4,488.42.

Chinese shares sank Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going below 2,900 points during afternoon trading. At close, the Shanghai index decreased 3.55 percent to 2,900.97 points.

European equities also ended sharply lower, with French benchmark index CAC 40 falling 2.38 percent, weighed by deep losses in Asian stocks and sharp declines in commodities prices.

Adding to the pessimism in the market, oil prices plunged further Friday, with both the U.S. oil and the Brent crude dropping over 5 percent to settle below 30 U.S. dollars a barrel for the first time in 12 years.

The U.S. economic data also came out negative. The Commerce Department announced Friday that advance estimates of retail and food services sales for December decreased 0.1 percent from the previous month to 448.1 billion dollars, missing market expectations.

The Producer Price Index for final demand decreased 0.2 percent in December after seasonal adjustment, the Labor Department said Friday.

The U.S. industrial production declined 0.4 percent in December, primarily as a result of cutbacks in utilities and mining, according to the Federal Reserve Friday.

"The economy was flat-out weak at the end of last year, and January's financial market chaos does not bode well for a Q1 rebound," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

For the week, all three major indices saw big losses, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq going down 2.2 percent, 2.2 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Endit