Money | money Dow Plummets 266: Market's Worst Day in 5 Months China's growth rate starts off a bad day By Neal Colgrass Posted Apr 15, 2013 3:10 PM CDT Copied Trader William McInerney, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The stock market suffered its worst loss in five months today as China posted lower-than-expected growth and the Boston Marathon bombing added a late wave of anxiety, TheStreet and Wall Street Journal report.The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 266 points, gold fell by 9.4%, and the S&P dropped by 37. The China worry: Its growth fell to only 7.7%. "We have to agree: 7.7% growth is not a low growth rate ... for most nations; but China is not most nations," an economist said. He added that China requires 9% GDP growth to accommodate massive numbers of Chinese people moving east to the nation's coast. China's lower growth put pressure on commodity-linked sectors, sending energy shares and materials down by 3.7% and 3.8%, respectively. The mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold suffered the worst S&P 500 loss by falling 8.8%. "When you talk about the sectors that are leading on the way down, they're all commodity-backed in some fashion," said a trade analyst. Read These Next Colorado wants to give 'peace of mind' on Hunter S. Thompson. Defense officials react to Hegseth's Quantico meeting. Hiker lost for days in Idaho had no pants or shoes. Turns out life on the California coast isn't always breezy. Report an error