ALL THAT GLITTERS: As the stock market plunged, investors looking for a safe haven piled into gold. The price of gold jumped nearly 4 percent, or $57.90, to $1,622.10 per ounce.

A BAD DAY FOR COPPER: Copper was a different story. The industrial metal, which is widely used in construction and manufacturing, continued to fall. It lost 1.5 percent after two new surveys showed that China's manufacturing slowed in May.

WHAT'S WITH WHEAT: The price of wheat tumbled nearly 5 percent as investors fretted that a global slowdown would crimp demand for it and other agricultural commodities.