Investors were also discouraged by a report showing that hiring was sluggish at U.S. businesses last month. (See separate story.)
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 99 points, or 0.7 percent, at 15,093 after the first few minutes of trading Wednesday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 10 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,684. The Nasdaq composite fell 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,801.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.63 percent from 2.65 percent.
Monsanto fell $2.86, or 3 percent, to $102.07, after the company reported a wider loss than analysts were expecting because of weak sales of genetically engineered seeds.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/10/266270