US stocks retreated sharply on Wednesday; one day after the new president was elected, as economic fears returned to haunt the markets. Disappointing ADP employment report and ISM Services index release weighed heavily upon sentiments and major stock indexes finished with a loss of over 5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 486.01 points, (-5.05%), to close at 9,139.27. The S&P 500 declined 52.98 points (-5.27%) to 952.77. The Nasdaq Composite shrank 98.48 points (-5.53%) to 1,681.64.

On Wednesday, ADP survey reported that a total of 157,000 private-sector jobs were lost in October, the largest in six years. Consensus estimate was for a drop of 100,000 private sector jobs. The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index fell to 44.4 from 0.2 in September, the lowest level since records began in 1997. Economists had forecast the index to drop to 47.5. A reading below 50 suggests a contraction in services sector. Investors are now keenly awaiting Friday's Labor Department's October employment report.

Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday. Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, defeated Senator John McCain 72, of Arizona. Obama captured Virginia, a state that last voted for Democrats only in 1964.He beat McCain in important states like Ohio, Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, while retaining the traditional Democratic states. Obama won 349 electoral votes, far more than the 270 needed to win the presidency, while McCain managed only 142.

Financials were the worst hit in Wednesday's selloff. Citigroup (NYSE: C) lost $2.05 or 13.96% to $1263. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) slumped $2.78 or 11.33% to finish at $21.75. Shares of J.P Morgan (NYSE: JPM) were off 7%. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was down 9.74% while Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) fell 7.97%.

Telecom stocks drifted lower. AT&T (NYSE: T) subtracted $2.13 or 7.27% to close at $2.13. Verizon (VZ) declined 5.4%.

Energy stocks also felt the heat as crude Oil gave away most of yesterday's gains. Exxon Mobil (XOM) was down $3.80 or 4.90% at $73.69. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) shed 4.23%.

Drug maker Merck & Co., Inc (NYSE: MRK) fell $2.46 or 7.9% to $28.72. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) lost 5.92%.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) slumped $3.67 or 6.90% to finish at $49.55.

Among technology stocks, shares of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) retreated $1.45 or 6.16% to $22.08. Chipmaker Intel Corp.(NASDAQ: INTC) fell 6.52%.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) abandoned its proposed 10 year advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). In a statement Google said “After four months of review, including discussions of various possible changes to the agreement, it's clear that government regulators and some advertisers continue to have concerns about the agreement.