North American stock markets plunged again Monday, driven by economic doubts and concern about the $700-billion US bailout of the American financial system.

In both New York and Toronto, indexes fell through the 10,000 level in early trading, rebounded slightly, and then fell again by mid-afternoon. The TSX/S&P was last at 10,000 - when it was going up - on June 22, 2005.

Bad days on the TSX
Date	Drop (points)	Drop (%)
Sept. 29	840.93	6.9
Oct. 2	813.97	7
Source: CBC

,By 2.35 p.m. ET Monday, it was down 920 points or 8.5 per cent, to 9,883. It had been down as much as 1,180 points or almost 11 per cent.

The TSX began to drop in the summer, but the fall has become steeper since late August, and trading in late September and October has been frantic, with frequent big drops.