New York: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 7,000 points for the first time since 1997 in early trading on Wall Street Monday, following stock sell-offs across the globe after American International Group Inc (AIG) reported a $62-billion quarterly loss.
The US' deepening recession and financial crisis mean the blue-chip Dow has now lost more than half its value since reaching a record high of 14,000 points in October 2007. US stocks had already plunged last week to their lowest level since 1997.
The Dow index lost more than 1.5 per cent within a half-hour of opening Monday morning. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.6 per cent. Stocks in Europe and Japan fell sharply earlier in the day.
AIG reported a loss of $99.3 billion for the whole of 2008, including $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter alone, due to its exposure to the US housing market downturn.
The Treasury said the insurance giant would get another $30 billion in government aid to help avoid bankruptcy, on top of $150 billion already provided to the ailing insurer in the form of loans and guarantees.
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