About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 180.40 points (1.14 per cent) to 15,668.21.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 15.47 (0.86 per cent) to 1,778.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 34.03 (0.83 per cent) to 4,089.09.
The US losses mapped the deep falls in European markets as global financial turbulence continues unabated.
Investors also punished companies with disappointing earnings and earnings forecasts, pushing Amazon, Chevron and Walmart lower.
Amazon sank 7.6 per cent after earnings came in at 51 cents per share, well below the 66 cents forecast by analysts. Results were hit by a sharp rise in expenses.
Dow component Chevron fell 3.6 per cent after earnings slumped 32 per cent compared with last year and revenues of $56.2 billion badly underperformed the $63.1 billion forecast by analysts.
Walmart, another Dow component, fell 1.0 per cent after warning that earnings for the upcoming quarter would be "slightly" below prior forecasts due to cuts in the US food stamp program and bad weather that kept US shoppers at home.
Google jumped 3.8 per cent after reporting that revenues on "click" ads rose by nearly a third. Google also announced a new dividend payment.
Earnings at MasterCard were 57 cents per share, three cents below expectations, sending its shares down 5.4 per cent.
Mattel tumbled 9.0 per cent after earnings missed the $1.20 per share estimate by 13 cents due to a six per cent decline in worldwide sales.
Social games company Zynga shot up 17.9 per cent after announcing it was buying mobile game and animation firm NaturalMotion for $527 million.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.66 per cent from 2.69 per cent, while the 30-year declined to 3.60 per cent from 3.64 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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