US stocks plunge, banks fall as stock market hits record low

Stocks closed higher Tuesday on gains as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time low of 17,936.04.

The S&P 500 fell 7.3 percent, the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.7 percent and the Dow fell 10.3.

The Nasdaq’s first-day gains were its best since mid-November.

The index is now down 1,000 points for the year.

The Dow’s fall has been even sharper than the S&amps.

The stock market has been in free fall for more than two months, with a single day losing more than 80 percent of its value.

The latest slump in the Dow has left the S &Ps total loss for the week at $5.6 billion.

The Standard &amp%Ticker is down $0.9, or 3.3%, to $1,879.70.

The dollar was up 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which tracks the yield on the U.S. government’s benchmark 10 year Treasury bond, lost 2.2 basis points to yield 0.98 percent.

Gold was up 1.1 percent to $US1,284.55 an ounce.

The price of gold dropped $0