Declining stocks on the New York Stock Exchange out numbered advancers by a ratio of over 32 to 1 on Thursday as major stock indexes plunged as much as 8 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 480.73 points, or 4.42 percent, to 10,387.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 49.67 points, or 4.26 percent, to 1,116.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 99.34 points, or 4.14 percent, to 2,302.95.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)