U.S. markets down Wednesday

U.S. stocks indexes were lower Wednesday after Alcoa Inc. said it would shed 13,500 jobs.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an international outplacement consulting firm, said December’s layoff announcements were a record for the month while ADP and Macroeconomic Advisers said 693,000 non-farm jobs were lost in December.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 172.44 points or 1.19 percent to 8,842.66. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 18.74 or 2 percent to 915.96. The Nasdaq composite index lost 34.69 percent to 2.1 percent to 1,617.69.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 17/32 to yield 2.5 percent.

The euro rose to $1.3686, compared to Tuesday’s $1.3522. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 92.619 yen, down from Tuesday’s 93.85 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average gained 158.40 points to 9,239.24, up 1.74 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 131.41 points, down 2.83 percent, to 4,507.51.