[Updated at 5:46 p.m. ET] The day started off poorly for stocks and never really got better. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up sliding 240 points for the day, putting the Dow at a seven-week low.

The S&P 500 was 1.4% lower - also a seven-week low - and the Nasdaq was down 0.9%, to an eight-week low.

Check out CNNMoney.com to learn which companies' disappointing earnings reports helped to spur the sell-off.

[Initial post, 2:52 p.m. ET] A rough morning for stocks is now a rough afternoon. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 220 points, with little more than an hour left in the trading day.

Disappointing earnings and forecasts are behind the sell-off. Particularly worrisome for investors was the news that three major U.S. industrial companies missed their earnings targets.  Check out CNNMoney.com for more on what's going on.