US stocks pare steep losses: Dow -1.6%

Wall Street stocks tumbled Wednesday as US oil prices sank to fresh 12-year lows, but an afternoon rally significantly cut the session's losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 249.28 points (1.56 percent) at 15,766.74. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 22.00 (1.17 percent) to 1,859.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 5.26 (0.12 percent) to 4,471.69.