Stocks plunged at the Monday open after a deepening financial crisis in Europe heightened worries about a global economic slowdown.

The S&P, Dow and Nasdaq were sharply lower, following a broad sell-off around the world.

The Dow dropped 280 points immediately at the open, approaching the 10,000-point benchmark, before bouncing back a little to a 202-point decline The Nasdaq and S&P each fell about 2.3%.