U.S. stock indexes plunged in Thursday's trading, echoing losses on European and Asian markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.7 percent to close at 10,991. The S & P 500 dropped 4.5 percent to end at 1,141, while the NASDAQ composite index slid 5.2 percent to finish at 2,380.

Stocks closed sharply lower in Europe. London's Financial Times index dropped 4.5 percent to close at 5,092. The CAC-40 in Paris fell 5.5 percent to end at 3,076. The DAX index in Frankfurt ended down 5.8 percent to finish the day's trading at 5,603.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost 1.3 percent to finish at 8,944. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 1.3 percent to finish the day's trading at 20,016.

The price of gold rose more than $34 to trade at 1,825.80 per ounce.

The dollar was down against the yen but made gains compared to the euro.