Dow Drops Almost 300

On the day that President Obama signed the stimulus package into law the markets took another tumble. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 297.81 points, or 3.79 percent, to 7,552.60. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gave up 37.67 points, or 4.56 percent, at 789.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 63.70 points, or 4.15 percent, to 1,470.66.

Wall Street's slide pulled the S&P 500 and Dow to their lowest levels since November 20, when stocks hit 11-year lows. Just before the end of the session, the Dow briefly broke through its bear market closing low that was hit on November 20.

The day's losses brought the Dow down 13.9 percent since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 is down 12.6 percent and the Nasdaq has fallen 6.7 percent.