BAILOUT REJECTED, DOW DROPS 666, 777 POINTS!
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks skidded Monday afternoon, with the Dow's nearly 778-point drop being the worst single-day point loss ever, after the House rejected the government's $700 billion bank bailout plan. Stocks tumbled ahead of the vote and the selling accelerated on fears that Congress would not be able come up with a fix for nearly frozen credit markets. The frozen markets mean banks are hoarding cash, making it difficult for businesses and individuals to get much-needed loans. ( Full story ) According to preliminary tallies, the Dow Jones industrial average ( INDU ) lost 777.68, surpassing the 684.81 loss on Sept. 17, 2001 - the first trading day after the September 11 attacks. However the 7% decline does not rank among the top 10 percentage declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 ( SPX ) index was down 8.7% and the Nasdaq composite ( COMP ) 9.1%. "The stock market was definitely taken by surprise," said Drew Kanaly, chairman and CEO of Kanaly Trust