Dow closes below 8,000

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks took a hard fall, taking the Dow below 8,000. Investors were disheartened by the reported plunge in housing starts to the lowest level on record, and indications that an effort to bailout the Big Three automakers has stalled.

The Dow lost 427 points or 5 percent to 7,997.

The S&P fell 52 points or 6.1 percent to 806.

The Nasdaq composite dropped nearly 97 points or 6.5 percent to 1,386.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 15 to 1 margin.

Volume on the NYSE came to 6.3 billion shares. Trading on the Nasdaq stock market was 2.3 billion shares.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 77 cents to settle at $53.62 a barrel.