The Dow Jones industrial average closed at session lows, off 531 points and in correction territory for the first time since 2011 as all blue chips declined. The last time the index closed more than 500 points lower was on Aug. 10, 2011. In the last five years, the index has only had four instances with closing losses of more than 400 points.

"For investors the momentum and the drive of the market is now lower (than) it used to be because there's no place to hide," said Lance Roberts, general partner at STA Wealth Management. "Every time we hit the major technical points we kept selling."

A traders noted that investors stopped looking at techincals and were plowing through them.

"It's an expiration day and it looks like they're to have for sale on the close maybe as much as a billion dollars," said Art Cashin, director of floor trading for UBS.