U.S. Stocks Plummet

Markets continue to slide Monday in reaction to the S&P's U.S. credit downgrade. By mid-afternoon, the Dow average was down roughly 470 points, or more than 4 percent. The S&P and NASDAQ were down about 5.5 perccent. Banking and commodities were among the hardest hit in the slump, with Bank of America dropping 9.5 percent and United States Steel down 7.6 percent. "Everyone's hair is on fire," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco. Global markets also suffered, particularly in Asia, where they dropped more than 2 percent. The value of gold, meanwhile, hit records in Asia as investors fled to safety.