Dow slides after ECB reins in bond-buying hopes

US stocks are sliding in midday trading after the head of the European Central Bank said there was no existing plan for large-scale government bond purchases, as many in the markets had hoped.

ECB President Mario Draghi 's remarks sent borrowing costs for Italy, Spain and other countries with heavy debt burdens sharply higher. Draghi's made his comments Thursday after the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate and took other steps to shore up Europe's banking system.

All you need to know about Euro debt crisis

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 124 points, or 1 per cent, to 12,071. JPMorgan Chase & Co. slid 4 percent, the most of any stock in the Dow.

The S&P 500 fell 16, or 1.3 percent, to 1,245. The Nasdaq lost 24, or 0.9 per cent, to 2,625.