Wall Street crash: Dow Jones plunges to historic low, S&P 500 & Nasdaq hit

In the biggest fall in its history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,600 points at one point as Wall Street experienced a bloodbath on Monday.

The Dow's gains for 2018 were erased in a matter of hours as 4.6 per cent was wiped off the value of America's 30 largest companies as it closed at 24,345.75 ending down 1,175.21 points down.

The Dow fell over fears of Treasury bond yields and the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year as the US economy strengthens.

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The benchmark S&P 500 index also saw selling pressure as all sectors, were hit. It was down 5.0 per cent which was the biggest daily percentage decline, followed by healthcare, down 4.6 per cent.

The S&P 500 lost 113.19 points, or 4.10 per cent, to end at 2,648.94 on Monday.

"It looks to me like a typical type of scenario when you see a single stock flash crash where you'll see bids just disappear, stop orders get kicked," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading told Reuters.

The Nasdaq Composite also dropped 273.42 points, or 3.78 per cent to 6,967.53.