International Business Machines (NYSE:BM) posted a 20 percent jump in profits for the third quarter which helped boost the Nasdaq index early, but a broad sell off pulled the rug from under tech stocks, too, as markets posted their seventh straight day of losses.

The DJIA closed at 8,579.19, off 7.33 percent, down 678.91 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 7.62 percent on loss of 75.02 points, reaching 909.92. The Nasdaq composite index, in the black at midday, fell 5.47 percent, to 1,645.12, down 95.21 points.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 244 stocks advanced and 2,951 declined on a volume of 10.9 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 29/32 to yield 3.764 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3604, compared to $1.3667 Wednesday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 99.59 yen, up from 99.84 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 45.83 points to 9,157.49, off 0.5 percent.

The FTSE 100 index in London lost 52.90 to 4,313.80, off 1.21 percent.