Dow plunges 530 points for worst week since 2011

NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 530 points Friday capping off the stock market index's worst week since 2011.

The Dow finished at 16,459 for its biggest loss of the year, the ninth-biggest point decline in its history. It fell more than 1,200 points in August and had a more than 10-percent decline since its all-time high in May.

"Right now there is a feeling of fear in the marketplace, and all news is interpreted negatively and it's interpreted indiscriminately," Tom Digenan, the head of U.S. equities at UBS Global Asset Management, told CNBC.

The Dow's dramatic slide could be related to a number of factors, including a report out of China that its manufacturing sector had shrunk in the first three weeks of August at the fastest rate since 2009. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 11.5 percent this week, sending the market closer to its lowest point.

The weak Chinese manufacturing data sent crude oil prices down more than 1 percent from the previous close in early Friday trading. Brent crude oil fell to its lowest price since March 2009 to $45.10 a barrel.

Meanwhile, falling oil prices have caused the currencies of a number of developing countries to decline, CNN reported, including Kazakhstan, whose currency lost about 23 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar.

Brazil's real has fallen 9 percent in against the U.S. dollar in the past month and the currencies of Colombia, Chile and Vietnam have all dropped as well.