The stock market declined sharply Wednesday afternoon, with all three major indexes now experiencing dips that put them into negative territory for the year.

As of 2:45 p.m., the Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 2.3 percent, or 44 points, to 1,834. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.7 percent to 16,025 — a fall of 290 points. The Nasdaq composite saw a 1.7 percent fall to 4,154 — a 73 point drop.

Amid fears of a global economic slowdown, traders have been selling off risky assets in favor of investments usually seen as safer, like U.S. government bonds.