Stocks give up all of their 2011 gains in vicious sell-off

Wall Street on Thursday had its worst day since the depths of the 2008-09 recession and financial crisis, as fears mushroomed worldwide about the faltering global economy.

Nearly every major U.S. stock index now is in the red for 2011.

The numbers tell the ugly tale:

--- The Dow Jones industrial average (charted below) plummeted 512.76 points, or 4.3%, to 11,383.68, the lowest close since Dec. 9, 2010. The Dow now is off 1.7% year to date.