U.S. equities plunged as much 8 percent at the start of trading, before paring the drop below 7 percent, with trading settling into a range after an initial bout of selling triggered a 15-minute NYSE-mandated halt.
Trading will stop again if losses reach 13 percent any time before 3:25 p.m. European stocks tumbled 10 percent in the biggest rout since 2008. The 10-year Treasury yield slid to 0.65 percent.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 indexes sank deeper into a bear market, with losses from February closing records extending to at least 23 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank deeper into bear territory after its record Bull Run ended Wednesday.
The MSCI All-Country World Index extended losses to trade more than 20 percent below last month’s peak, putting it in on track for the same distinction.
Bitcoin plunged, at one point sinking through $6,000 for the first time since May as a sell-off in cryptocurrencies became a rout amid wider market turmoil.
The largest digital currency at one point tumbled to $5,705.31, though the move eased slightly to trade down 23 percent at $6,068 as of 7:37 a.m. in New York.
On the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), equities sank 3.72 percent at the close of trading. Oil prices continued their downtrend with Brent crude down 6.29 percent to $33.54 per barrel.
