Worries about the corporate sector sent stocks on Wall Street sharply lower again on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrials dropping nearly 400 points.

Improvements in the credit markets — including the third straight day of declines in bank borrowing rates — did little to placate stock investors who are eying the corporate consequences of an economy that many economists believe is already in a recession. Earnings reports have been weak this week, and many companies have warned about lower sales and a bleak outlook for the remainder of the year.

The problems have appeared in a range of industries. The aviation giant Boeing saw profits fall 38 percent last quarter. Merck, the pharmaceutical company, posted a 28 percent drop in net income and will cut jobs. The North Carolina-based bank Wachovia, which was recently acquired by Wells Fargo, suffered a $23.7 billion net loss.

At 1:45 p.m., the broad Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down more than 4.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite index was off about 3 percent, despite gains in shares of Apple and Yahoo. The Dow, after falling more than 200 points on Tuesday, was off about 380 points to 8,649, a decline of 4.3 percent, with 29 of the 30 components of the index in retreat. Only McDonald’s showed a gain.

The declines in stocks overshadowed an encouraging milestone for oil prices, which fell below $68 a barrel — a low for the year — before climbing back slightly. Crude oil was more than $4 lower in New York trading at $68.15 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the American dollar continued to strengthen against foreign currencies. The British pound fell to a five-year low against the American currency, and the euro has stumbled to a two-year low over the past few weeks.

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