Stocks tumbled yesterday after Brazil devalued its currency, sparking worries that growing problems in the world's eighth-largest economy would hurt economic growth worldwide.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 125.12 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 9,349.56, according to early tallies, after falling 145 points Tuesday. In the broader market, declining issues beat advances two-to-one on heavy volume of about 934 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 3.43 points to 2,317.32, recovering from a drop of 114 points earlier in the session.

Brazil's move fanned worries about other devaluations in Latin America and rattled investors in Asia and Europe. The Brazilian stock market's main index fell 10 per cent before ending down 5.1 per cent.