Dow slumps 200 points as China, Fed worries roil markets NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average sank nearly 250 points Monday morning as a 5.3% plunge in China's stock market amped up financial jitters around the world. The Dow was down 243.52 points, or 1.65%, to 14,555.88 shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 27.08, or 1.7%, to 1,565.35. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite index dropped 52.62 points, or 1.57%, to 3,304.63. Traders on Wall Street awoke to renewed worries over a liquidity crisis and slowing economy in China. Fears about the world's second-largest economy sent the Shanghai Composite Index down 5.3% on Monday, marking its largest single-day drop since August 2009. Continued market convulsions came at the start of the first week since the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it may be ready, as early as later this year, to ease its vast monetary stimulus programs as the country's economy improves. The Fed has been pumping $85 billion into the economy each month by purchasing bonds, helping to keep interest rates near historic lows. The flood of money has made bonds less attractive and pushed investors into riskier assets such as stocks, helping fuel a meteoric rally in equities this year. As stocks fell Monday, the Dow was still up more than 11% this year. Investors' concerns about when the Fed could scale back its easy money, known as quantitative easing, has roiled the bond market too. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond has spiked recently, off rock-bottom lows. Its rise continued Monday, with the 10-year yield jumping to 2.622%, the highest since August 2011. The rise in bond yields comes as investors anticipate the Fed's eventual slow-down of bond purchases. Rising bond yields have some on Wall Street wondering whether a sustained rise in rates could cool off the housing market's recovery and squelch the economy's growth. China stock market plunges 5.3% Housing inventory crunch may ease with rising prices No-cash policy causes turbulence for Norwegian airline