At the end of trading, the Dow closed down 684 points, or 7 percent, to 8,921. It was the biggest point drop ever for the Dow and the first time it fell below 9,000 since Dec. 3, 1998. The Nasdaq closed down 115.59 points, also about 7 percent. The four-day market shutdown last week was the longest since the Depression, and the Fed move is seen as an effort to boost confidence in an already badly shaken financial system. The cut is the third time this year the central bank has cut rates between its regularly scheduled meetings.
Lending rates are now at their lowest levels in nearly eight years.
The markets opened with lower Manhattan still struggling to recover from the attacks. City officials upped the number of missing today from 4,957. The landlocked country shut down its airspace this morning and Pakistan has closed its border with Afghanistan and cut off the supply of fuel to its neighbor, in accordance with U.S. requests. Pakistani army officials reportedly said there was a large Afghan military buildup on the border between the two countries. The Taliban government also denied any military movements.