Dow sheds 1,000 points as markets enter ‘correction’

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,000 points Thursday, triggering an official “correction.” Both the Dow and the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 10 percent from their all-time highs, set Jan. 26. The markets have logged losses during five of the last six trading days. Analysts blamed the falling stock prices on fears the Federal Reserve would begin to raise interest rates more quickly amid positive economic indicators, including the latest wage report from the Labor Department. “Far and away the most important things are the fear that the Fed is going to make a mistake, and higher wages are going to cut into margins,” said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Rising wages could be a sign of faster inflation.