The sell-off in U.S. stocks accelerated Wednesday afternoon, with all three major indexes down about 2%.

The sell-off in U.S. stocks accelerated Wednesday afternoon, with all three major indexes down about 2%.

The sell-off in U.S. stocks accelerated late Wednesday morning, with the Dow tumbling as much as 190 points at one point.

U.S. stock futures fell slightly below breakeven Wednesday, as investors continue to weigh the impact of Japan’s deadly earthquake and subsequent nuclear crisis, with other geopolitical tensions around the world.

Japanese stocks rebounded Wednesday, with the leading stock index recovering nearly 6% from a two-day plunge stemming from the crisis created by the March 11 earthquake.

Stocks regained some lost ground in the last hour of trading Tuesday, but Japan’s devastating earthquake and nuclear crisis still have investors on edge.