Exactly one year after setting its all time high, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted today, falling 7.3% to 8,579, the first time it has closed below 9,000 since June 2003, reports The Washington Post.
The 679 point drop is the third-largest point loss for the index and the 11th-largest percentage loss. It was the seventh day in a row of losses on Wall Street as investor fears of the financial crisis intensified.
The Dow is now down more than 39% from its peak of 14,164.53 set on Oct. 9, 2007.
The Dow was led down by General Motors after JD Power and Associates reported that the global auto industry may experience an "outright collapse" in 2009. GM is down 31% to $4.76 a share, levels the company has not seen for decades. The S&P put GM's debt on credit watch, a key indicator of the company's health.
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