Shares in New York fell sharply on Wednesday amid the likelihood that serious dislocations will plague the economy even if the coordinated bailouts announced this week succeed in restoring confidence to credit markets.

Two reports on Wednesday put the slowdown into perspective. One report said that retail sales decreased 1.2 percent last month, nearly double the 0.7 percent drop that had been expected, while an index of New York manufacturing hit a record low in September.

“The market’s focus in a day has shifted from resilience in the financial sector to the recession,” said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist at ING investment management.

And the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, in a speech Wednesday in New York, warned that the economy faced a difficult time ahead.

“Our export sales, which have been a source of strength, very probably will slow,” Mr. Bernanke said, adding consumer spending and business investment remained weak.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average was down almost 545 points, or 5.8 percent, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 7 percent. The technology heavy Nasdaq was down 6.1 percent, after the chipmaker Intel reported a profit for the quarter, but noted weaker-than-expected sales of chips used in corporate computers.

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