The Dow Jones Industrial Average today closed down 369.88 points today. At one point the index was down 800 points, closing below 10,000 for the first time in four years at 9955.50.

“I don’t think anybody expected to walk into this today,” says OptionsXpress futures analyst Robert Kurzatkowsi. “Everybody knew Europe was bad and was going to feel the crunch of this financial mess. Everybody here expected them to be much more proactive about trying to ease the crisis over there.” The European Central Bank last week declined to lower interest rates, but since that initial hesitancy, Germany is trying to construct “a national financial shield,” he says and the United Kingdom has announced that it will cooperate with the United States to help ease the credit crunch.

During this time of remarkable volatility, brokerage firms and exchanges are constantly revising margin requirements.

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