US stocks plunged for a second straight session as hope for a recovery on Wall Street quickly faded. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 249.48 points, or 3.2 per cent, to 7,615.54. The sell-off extended Wednesday's 155-point loss, and wiped out all of Tuesday's record 380-point gain.

Broader stock indexes also tumbled in another global sell-off sparked by fears of an economic crisis that is spreading from Asia and Russia, as well as the added threat of impeachment proceedings against US President Bill Clinton.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a three-to-one margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 875.73 million shares, up from 696.94 million shares on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq composite index was down 45.50 at 1,579.05. The NYSE composite index was down 12.81 at 487.76.