The prices of stocks and gold appeared to chase each other sharply lower on Monday after a report said growth unexpectedly slowed in China.

The stall in the rise of the world’s second-largest economy pushed Wall Street’s broadest stock index down 2.3 percent by the close of trading and put heavy selling pressure on gold, oil and other commodities.

The price of gold, which has been steadily drifting lower since the worst of the Great Recession passed, dropped another 9 percent Monday after a 5 percent drop on Friday. The market price of an ounce of gold ended trading in New York at a multiyear low; the April contract closed at $1,360.60, down $140.40.

Stocks, too, were continuing a pullback that began Friday after a report on falling retail sales for March. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index slumped 2.3 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.8 percent — more than 260 points — and the Nasdaq composite index lost 2.4 percent.