In a volatile trading session, stocks took a beating as investors continue to worry about the timing and scope of a paring back on the Federal Reserve's bond-buying stimulus program.
Stocks took a dive immediately after the 2 p.m. ET release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting but then quickly recovered and then plunged all over again late in the session.
In the minutes, Fed policymakers indicated they are still on track to slow the central bank's massive stimulus this year and end it in mid-2014, but gave no signal whether the scale-back could begin next month.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 105.44, or 0.7%, to close at 14,897.55. The Dow is now riding a six-session losing streak and closed below 15,000 for the first time since July 3. It's the Dow's first six-day drop since July 2012.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.55, or 0.6%, to 1,642.80 and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 13.80, or 0.4%, to 3,599.55.