Stocks plunge after Obama's re-election win
Investors fear failure to fix the fiscal cliff will lead to recession. European stocks slump after ECB President Draghi says even Germany is weakening. Apple has fallen 20% since September.Bank and energy stocks fall. Oil and gold slip.
By Charley Blaine 2 hours ago
Updated: 2:54 p.m. ET

A day after President Barack Obama won a second term, stocks are suffering their worst one-day losses since at least June.

The good news is, however, that the losses have been cut substantially. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU -2.16%), down as many as 369 points at 11:30 a.m., had seen the loss shrink by a fifth by 2:10 p.m. ET. Still, the blue-chip index was trading below 13,000 for the first time since Aug. 2, and the major U.S. averages were all down about 2%.

Bank stocks were the weakest sector in part because it's likely the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill will remain largely intact. In addition, Elizabeth Warren, a critic of many U.S. banking practices, won a seat to the U.S. Senate. JPMorgan Chase (JPM -5.13%), a critic of bank regulation, was down $2.21 to $40.67. Health insurance stocks were lower because the Health Reform Act -- aka Obamacare -- is likely to stay in place.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell back sharply in part because of worries about global demand. Europe became a worry after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he expected no change to the weak eurozone economy in the near future. Worse, he said, the weakness has begun to affect Germany. European stocks immediately sold off -- and sharply, too. The dollar rose against the euro and British pound.

At 2:54 p.m. ET, the Dow was off 290 points to 12,956, still an ugly loss and the worst decline since June 1. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX -2.15%) had slumped 31 points to 1,397. A close below 1,400 would be its first since Aug. 6. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX -2.34%) had dropped 71 points to 2,941, potentially its biggest loss since June 1.