Stocks were sharply lower on Wall Street on Friday after a painful dose of weak economic data reignited fears that a recession may be imminent. A new round of woes in the financial industry also contributed to the sell-off.

The Dow Jones industrials dropped more than 100 points right after the opening bell, and by early afternoon the decline had reached 280 points, or more than 2 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell by a similar amount reports the New York Times.

The market was poised for a poor opening after American International Group, the world’s largest insurer, posted the worst quarterly loss in company history Thursday night. Shares of financial services firms, an albatross on the market for months, fell again on Friday after A.I.G. stock tumbled more than 6 percent in early trading.

Read it here: Stocks Dive on New Signs of Economic Chill