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New York • The stock market sank Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 250 points, on disappointing economic news and a slide in airlines stocks over Ebola fears. Investors moved money into traditional havens in times of uncertainty: bonds, gold and stocks that pay large dividends, such as utilities.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 250 points, or 1.5 percent, to 16,792 as of 3:25 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 28 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,944 and the Nasdaq composite lost 80 points, or 1.8 percent, to 4,413.

U.S. DATA IN FOCUS: Stocks have been down all day, but the selling accelerated in the late morning after a closely watched index measuring U.S. manufacturing was weak in September. The Institute for Supply Management's survey came in at 56.6, below the 58.5 economists had been looking for.

That was more than enough to offset positive news from the payroll processing company ADP, which showed private employers hired 213,000 workers last month. That was slightly better than the 207,000 economists expected, according to FactSet.

SAFETY: Investors moved quickly into U.S. government bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 2.40 percent from 2.49 percent late Tuesday, a big move. Gold prices rose as well, up $3.90, or 0.3 percent, to $1,215.50 an ounce.

"A lot of people thought this economic data was going to be robust, so when it was weak, everyone moved to reposition," said Tom di Galoma, head of rates and credit trading at ED&F Man Capital.

Utility stocks, which tend to be attractive to investors during times of volatility because of their higher-than-average dividends, were among the few stocks that rose Wednesday. The Dow Jones utility index, a collection of 15 utility companies, was up 0.3 percent.

EBOLA: News that the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in the U.S. reverberated through several industries. Airlines were among the hardest hit as investors feared people would be discouraged from traveling. American Airlines fell $1.17, or 3.3 percent, to $34.28 and Delta fell $1.18, or 3.3 percent, to $34.96. Southwest fell $1.23, or 3.5 percent, to $32.53.

Drugmakers developing potential vaccines or treatments for Ebola rose. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals jumped $5.96, or 25 percent, to $29.65 after the company said it may start clinical trials for an Ebola drug this year. NewLink Genetics, another company looking into Ebola treatments, rose $1.80, or 8 percent, to $23.22.

GERMANY WEIGHS ON EUROPE: A purchasing managers survey by Markit showed that German manufacturing unexpectedly contracted in September, the latest sign that Europe is being affected by the sanctions on Russia. It was the first time German manufacturing contracted in 15 months.

In European markets, Germany's DAX finished 1 percent lower, France's CAC 40 lost 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 1 percent.

ECB LOOMING: Traders are gearing up for Thursday's European Central Bank policy meeting in Naples, Italy. Though no change in policy is anticipated, there will be great interest in what ECB President Mario Draghi says about possible monetary stimulus from the central bank following further weak inflation data.

ASIA: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index shed 0.6 percent to 16,082.25 after a survey showed business conditions deteriorated. Stock exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for China's National Day holiday. Pro-democracy protests are swelling in Hong Kong. Streets in the business district have closed in the biggest threat to Beijing's authority since China took control of the former British colony in 1997.

COMMODITIES: The price of oil fell Wednesday to its lowest level since April 2013 on concerns that a weakening global economy will lead to lower oil demand. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 43 cents to close at $90.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 51 cents to close at $94.16 on the ICE Futures exchange in London. In other metals trading, silver rose 20 cents to $17.26 an ounce. Copper rose three cents to $3.04 a pound.