Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street tumbled Thursday as investors worry about the U.S. auto bailout bill and a series of negative economic data.

    The 14-billion-dollar loan package for the struggling auto industry got an approval in the U.S. House of Representatives, but investors are concerned that it may encounter difficulties in the Senate.

    The collapse of any one of the major three U.S. auto makers could result in thousands of job losses, which will further batter the already weak economy.

    The U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial claims for jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000, a level not seen in 26 years. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists had expected.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit rose to 57.2 billion U.S. dollars in October while the market had expected the deficit to decline on lower oil prices.

    The Dow Jones industrial average fell 196.33, or 2.24 percent, to 8,565.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 25.65, or 2.85 percent, to 873.59, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 57.60, or 3.68 percent, to 1,507.88.