Stocks slid on Monday as news of a record $61.7 billion quarterly loss at embattled insurer American International Group fueled worries the already deep financial crisis is worsening.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 176.26 points, or 2.50 percent, at 6,886.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 19.66 points, or 2.67 percent, at 715.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 28.56 points, or 2.07 percent, at 1,349.28.

The Dow tumbled to its lowest since May 1997 on an intraday basis, hit by a sell-off in financial and energy shares. Oil futures fell more than 9 percent to $40.47 a barrel.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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