Dow Closes Down 600 Points in Worst Day Since 2008

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Updated 8:16 p.m. ET | Stocks plummeted Monday in their worst showing since 2008, sending the Dow below 11,000 and rattling investor confidence in the latest hit to the U.S. economy. The dive follows Friday’s news that Standard & Poor’s was downgrading the United States’ AAA credit rating.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 634.76 points, or 5.55 percent, to end unofficially at 10,809.85.

The rapid sell-off represents part of a trillion dollar loss in stock market wealth. The stock market has declined in value by more than 14 percent in over a two-week period.

According to the Washington Post,

The results capped one of the most volatile trading days so far this year. The VIX, an index that tracks market swings and is nicknamed by traders the “fear index,” climbed to nearly 41 points Monday, more than twice its average so far this year.

Earlier in the day, President Obama acknowledged concern over Standard & Poor’s downgrading of the United States’ credit rating but indicated it was a wake-up call for Washington as much as an economic shift.

The hit to the U.S. stock market followed tough days in Europe and Asia, reacting in part to debt woes in Spain and Italy. Finance ministers from the G-7 group of industrialized nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — have said they will “take all necessary measures to support financial stability and growth” in an attempt to calm investors. The European Central Bank also held an emergency session Sunday, vowing to take measures to shore up Spain and Italy.

We’ll have a panel of analysts on Monday’s NewsHour to react to the latest market news. Stay tuned.