U.S. markets fall hard

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped below the 10,000-point level for the first time in four years Monday, in spite of a $700 financial bailout bill.

Down 482.82 points in early afternoon trading, the DJIA was at 9,851.16, off 4.59 percent.

The Standard and Poor's 500 also fell, down 5.2 percent or 54.65 points, to 1,044.58. The Nasdaq composite index lost 107.95 points, 5.54 percent, to 1,839.44.

Trouble in foreign banks appeared to be picking up steam. Ireland and Germany moved to guarantee bank deposits. French bank BNP-Paribas took over the Luxembourg and Belgian operations of international bank Fortis, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday said it will increase lending to stressed banks and begin paying interest on commercial banks' reserves.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 1 1/32 to yield 3.475 percent.

The dollar was mixed Monday. The euro fell to $1.351, compared to $1.3806 Friday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 101.27 yen, down from 105.14 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 465.05 points to 10,473.09, off 4.25 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 363.00 points, off 7.29 percent, to 4,617.20.