NEW YORK: US stocks sank in volatile trading on Friday, with the S&P 500 hitting its lowest since Aug. 24 and the Dow dropping more than 400 points, as oil prices dived below $30 per barrel.

All 10 major S&P sectors in the red and all 30 Dow components lower. The Russell 2000 small-cap index fell as much as 3.1 percent to its lowest since July 2013.

The beaten-down energy sector's 3.36 percent slide led the declines, as oil prices fell 5 percent. The technology sector was down 3.44 percent, as Intel's weak report weighed heavily on chip stocks.

At 12:08 p.m. ET (1708 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 418.05 points, or 2.55 percent, at 15,961. The S&P 500 was down 49.46 points, or 2.57 percent, at 1,872.38. It fell to a low of 1,869.53.

The Nasdaq Composite index was down 154.21 points, or 3.34 percent, at 4,460.80. It hit its lowest since Aug. 24. The S&P 500 has fallen 12.3 percent and the Dow 13.1 percent from their highs in May, pushing them into what is generally considered as 'correction territory'.

The CBOE volatility index jumped as much as 29.2 percent to 30.95, it's highest since September.

Dow components Exxon and Chevron were down 2-4 percent, while Caterpillar dropped 4 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,823 to 251. On the Nasdaq, 2,491 issues fell and 295 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed no new 52-week highs and 115 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded four new highs and 428 lows.

European shares ended on Friday at their lowest since mid-December 2014, hit by losses in commodity-related stocks as BHP Billiton announced a major writedown and oil fell below $30 a barrel.

The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index was down 6.3 percent, with Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta also among top fallers.

The FTSEurofirst 300 ended down 2.8 percent at 1,297.1 points, making its third straight weekly loss. It fell 6.7 percent last week.