Stocks Pare Steepest Losses of the Day

Updated from 2:48 p.m. EDT

U.S. stocks dropped violently Monday, as it became apparent that the credit crisis had spread beyond America into Europe and Asia.

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 last hour of trading, however, the major indices were easing off their lows. The Dow was down 426 points at 9898. The S&P 500 gave back 48 points to 1050. The Nasdaq dropped 91 points to 1855.

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. ...