The steep downturn capped what has now been 11 weeks of heavy selling, during which the Dow has suffered seven triple-digit losing streaks.

Analysts said the declines reflect investors' unwillingness to make any bets amid so much uncertainty. The latest drops were particularly disheartening given that the market had appeared to be recovering from its worst days, with the Dow enjoying stellar surges, gaining 447 on Monday and 488 on July 24.

The Dow closed down 193.49, or 2.3 percent, at 8,313.13, according to preliminary calculations, after falling as much as 302 points. The blue chips fell 229.97 yesterday.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 20.42, or 2.3 percent, at 864.24, and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 32.12, or 2.5 percent, to 1,247.88.

The Dow ended the week up 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq fell 1.1 percent and the S&P rose 1.3 percent. The last time all three indexes ended the week higher was May 17, 11 weeks ago.

"It is unrealistic for investors to expect a big snap back, given the fact that we have had such a prolonged bad period for stock and in terms of the corporate profit recovery being slower than people had thought," said Brian Belski, market strategist for US Bancorp Piper Jaffray.

The pullback extended selling that began earlier this week following a string of negative reports, including a weaker-than-expected gross domestic product report for the second quarter, a drop in construction spending and a weak reading of national business activity.

As a result, a Labor Department report today that the nation's unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in July did little to persuade investors to buy. The figure, which was in line with expectations, has held steady for about six months now. But some economists believe it could rise as high as 6.5 percent by the fall as the economy struggles to recover.

Stocks also had been moving lower as investors take profits from the market's late July rally. Between July 24 and July 29, the Dow advanced 1,009 points after tumbling for more than two months. Just over 600 of that remained by the end of trading today.

Walt Disney fell $1.52 to $15.31 after meeting expectations but reporting a 7 percent decline in net income for the third quarter. The loss reflected lower theme park attendance, soft advertising sales at its ABC network and movies that did not do as well as expected. Disney also was cautious about the fourth quarter.

John Hancock Financial Services lost $1.55 to $30.73 after reporting a 46 percent loss in second quarter income and reducing its earnings forecast for the year.