US STOCKS-Wall St falls 1 pct on Ebola fears

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell 1 percent on Wednesday as the first diagnosis of Ebola in a patient in the United States spooked investors and pressured shares of airlines and other transportation-related shares.

The day's losses were broad, with nine of the ten primary S&P 500 sectors falling. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,161 to 863, for a 2.50-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 2,064 issues were lower and 576 higher for a 3.58-to-1 ratio.

Small-cap stocks were pressured, and the Russell 2000 was down about 10 percent from its closing high, a level that puts the index in correction territory.

The NYSE ARCA Airline index fell 3.1 percent, with Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV - news) down 3.7 percent at $32.51 and Delta Air Lines off 3.8 percent at $34.78.

"African travel isn't a huge part of the travel industry, but it does seem like some parts of the industry are likely to be disrupted from this," said Mitch Rubin, chief investment officer at RiverPark Advisors in New York.

The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, was up 4.2 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was falling 220.15 points, or 1.29 percent, to 16,822.75, the S&P 500 was losing 21.13 points, or 1.07 percent, to 1,951.16 and the Nasdaq Composite was dropping 63.30 points, or 1.41 percent, to 4,430.09.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 3 new 52-week highs and 20 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 12 new highs and 209 new lows. (Editing by Bernadette Baum)