The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 1,175 points, or 4.6 percent, erasing its gains for the year.
The Dow's drop Monday was its biggest in terms of points, but it had a larger percentage drop as recently in 2011.
The Dow is down 8.5 percent from the record high it hit in late January.
The slump began Friday as investors worried that higher inflation and interest rates could derail the long-running rally.
At one point the Dow was down as much as 1,600 points.
The Dow ended at 24,345.
The Standard & Poor's 500, the benchmark for many index funds, fell 113 points, or 4.1 percent, to 2,648. The Nasdaq fell 273, or 3.8 percent, to 6,967.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.73 percent.
