The major U.S. stock indexes plunged in early trading Thursday on investor concerns that U.S. policy makers are running out of ways to spark the country's struggling economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.6 percent. The S&P 500 index fell almost 2.3 percent. And the NASDAQ slid 1.8 percent.

European stock prices also tumbled in late trading Thursday.

London's Financial Times index and the CAC-40 in Paris both fell almost 4.5 percent, while the DAX index in Frankfurt dipped 4.6 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index index lost just over two percent (181 points)) to finish at 8,560. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 4.9 percent to finish the day's trading at 17,912.

The price of gold fell almost $50 to trade at $1,732.53 an ounce.

The dollar fell against the yen but gained against the euro.