Markets Dive on Auto News

Another chaotic start to the week: Off the news that President Obama forced the ouster of GM’s chief executive, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 254.16 points, or 3.27 percent, to close at 7,522.02, with GM's share price falling below $3. The S&P and Nasdaq also sank 3 percent. Asian markets took a tumble in the early morning hours, with automobile and financial stocks falling sharply. The news that Japan’s industrial production was down for the fifth consecutive month caused the Nikkei 225 Average to finish down 4.5 percent. Meanwhile, the European Dow dropped 2.1 percent, causing the leads from last week to vanish.