Dow Stages Recovery, but Falls Shy of 10,000

Updated from 4:10 p.m. EDT

U.S. stocks plummeted violently Monday, as it became apparent that the credit crisis had spread beyond America and into Europe and Asia. In the last hour, the major indices rallied off the worst of their lows for the day, but they still ended in deeply negative territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke below 10,000 for the first time since October 2004, and fell as much as 800 points during the session, marking the largest intraday point decline in the history of the index.

In the end, the Dow closed with a loss of 369.88 points, or 3.6%, at 9955.50. 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. ...