US shares sank more than 2.0 percent Thursday with the Dow dropping to its lowest level for 2015 as worries spread about the strength of the world economy.

The broad-based selloff capped a day of sharp falls from Asia to Europe, as concerns mounted that China's slowdown would drag on global growth.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 355.97 points (2.05 percent) at 16,992.76.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 43.06 (2.10 percent) to 2,036.01, while the tech-rich Nasdaq gave up 141.56 (2.82 percent) at 4,877.49.