Dow Stages Recovery, But Falls Shy of 10,000 (at TheStreet.com)

U.S. stocks plummeted violently Monday, as it became apparent that the credit crisis had spread beyond America into Europe and Asia. But in the last hour, the major indices rallied off the worst of their lows for the day, though they still ended in deeply negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke below 10,000 for the first time since October 2004, falling as much as 800 points during the session. In the end, however, the index closed with a loss of 369.88 points, or 3.6%, at 9,955.50. The S&P 500 gave back 42.38 points, or 3.9%, to 1056.85. The Nasdaq dropped 84.43 points, or 4.3%, to 1862.96. In a sign of a global financial crunch , leaders from France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. met Saturday and agreed to coordinate efforts to prevent failures by Europe's banking institutions. A scramble ensued to help... [read full story]