US stocks tumble as Apple hit by Icahn exit of stock

US stocks finished a volatile session sharply lower Thursday after investor Carl Icahn said he had sold his remaining investment in Apple, sending the tech giant's shares down 3.1 percent.

Icahn told CNBC he liquidated his remaining Apple shares due to worries the Chinese government would thwart the company's efforts to sell more iPhones and other gadgets in the world's second-biggest economy.

Icahn also said he was "extremely cautious" about US equities given the embrace by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks of low and negative interest rates.

"Icahn was really the turning point," said Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management.

Near the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 200 points, or 1.1 percent, at 17,837.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 tumbled 0.9 percent to 2,076.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 1.2 percent to 4,805.29.