Dow Drops 200 as Fears Grip Wall Street That Easy Money Will Stop

From CNBC:

Stocks accelerated their selloff in the final hour of trading to end near session lows Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve said it will maintain its bond-buying program, though Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the central bank plans to moderate purchases later this year.

"They don't tie themselves officially into anything but it's clearly what they're going to do," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management. "I think he's more clearly said today than at any other time that he's going to taper before the end of the year, and there's a possibility he could be done by the middle of next year."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 206.04 points, or 1.35 percent, to end at 15,112.19, wiping out most of its gains from the last two sessions. All 30 Dow components finished in the red, dragged by Verizon and AT&T. The blue-chip index logged its seventh-straight triple-digit move.

The S&P 500 slumped 22.88 points, or 1.39 percent, to finish at 1,628.93. And the Nasdaq fell 38.98 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 3,443.20.