Stocks tumbled on Thursday, extending losses for a fourth straight session, as the Federal Reserve's weak outlook for the U.S. economy and disappointing data from China heightened fears about a global recession.

Big banks were the top decliners, a day after Moody's lowered debt ratings for large lenders.

Shares of Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley hit a 52-week low at the market's open. Citigroup fell more than 4 percent to $24.25 and Morgan Stanley dipped more than 6 percent to $12.99.

The Select Sector Financial Sector SPDR funds was off more than 3 percent, also a 52-week low.

A lot of people were hoping for the Fed to say we are close to recession but not really in it and were expecting an aggressive action out of the Fed. The market didn't get this, said James Dailey, portfolio manager of TEAM Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The market's mood has turned decidedly negative since the Fed statement on Wednesday, which detailed additional stimulus measures but also focused on the weak economy.

Investors are taking a more pessimistic view, and they question the ability of euro zone governments to control the sovereign debt crisis and reverse sluggish growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 355.86 points, or 3.20 percent, at 10,768.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 38.51 points, or 3.30 percent, at 1,128.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 79.97 points, or 3.15 percent, at 2,458.22.

FedEx Corp shares fell 10.4 percent to $64.93 after the world's No. 2 package delivery company reported higher quarterly profit that slightly beat forecasts but pared its outlook for a full year, citing fuel prices and moderate global economic growth.

In the latest economic data, Americans filed fewer new claims for jobless benefits last week, but the decline was not enough to dispel worries the economy was close to falling back into a recession.

The Fed announced a program Wednesday to sell $400 billion of short-term Treasury bonds and buy the same amount of longer-term U.S. government debt in a bid to lower long-term borrowing costs and bolster the housing market.

But investors were more focused on the Fed's wording that there were significant risks to the economy.

Elsewhere, data showed China's manufacturing sector contracted for a third straight month in September. The world's second-biggest economy is vulnerable to fading demand from the United States and Europe, its biggest export markets.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

China Citigroup