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

The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 key stocks is off 3 percent, with the broader S & P 500 down 3.2 percent. The technology-heavy NASDAQ index is down 3.8 percent.

In afternoon trading in Europe, London's Financial Times index is down 3.9 percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is off 4.5 percent, and the DAX index in Frankfurt is down 5.4 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost one and one-quarter 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.

Gold is trading up $21.57 at $1,812.82 an ounce.

The dollar is trading higher against both the yen and euro.