U.S. stocks took a pound Thursday, wiping out all of Wednesday's big gains, as investors weighed growing worries about the pace of global growth against upbeat U.S. [Hong Kong Company Registration Guide]economic data and corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 334.97 points, or 1.97 percent, to 16,659.25. The S&P 500 plunged 40.68 points, or 2.07 percent, to 1,928.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 90.26 points, or 2.02 percent, to 4,378.34.

The major stock indices accelerated losses after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said there are signs that the eurozone's economic growth is slowing down. His remarks deepened investor concern over the flagging economy of the single currency bloc after data had showed Germany, the largest European economy, is losing growth momentum.

Recent data and corporate earnings suggested the U.S. economy is still on right track, but failed to push the stock market into green territory.

On the economic front, the number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits in the week ending Oct. 4 declined 1, 000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000, said the Labor Department Thursday, adding that the four-week moving average of the claims fell to the lowest level since February 2006.

U.S. wholesales inventories went up 0.7 percent in August, beating market expectations, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

In corporate news, aluminum giant Alcoa unofficially kicked off a new corporate earnings season with its better-than-expected third-quarter results released late Wednesday. Alcoa shares reversed early gains to close 4.23 percent lower at 15.39 dollars apiece, as negative sentiment of the broader market weighed on the individual stock.

On the previous trading day, Wall Street saw the biggest rally this year, as investors embraced the Federal Reserve's dovish wording in the minutes of its September policy meeting.

"The latest FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes were somewhat dovish, [Hong Kong Company Formation & Registration]as the Committee appears cautious -- both about the outlook as well as the risks involved with changing statement language," said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan, in a note following the release of the minutes Wednesday.