A trader pauses as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the final minutes of the trading session in New York, October 9, 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 678.91 points on the day to finish at 8579.19 closing below 9,000 for the first time since 2003. [Agencies] Dow plunges 679 for 6th triple-digit loss in a row