Worst Week on Wall Street Ends Down

Dow Plunges Again

"This has been a deeply unsettling period for the American people. Many of our citizens have serious concerns about their retirement accounts, their investments, and their economic well-being," the president said.

Bush will meet tomorrow morning with the finance misters of the so-called G7 countries: the United States, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

"The federal government has a comprehensive strategy and the tools necessary to address the challenges in our economy. Fellow citizens: We can solve this crisis -- and we will," the president added. "We're working closely with partners around the world to ensure that our actions are coordinated and effective."

It was not a pretty picture overseas. Japan's Nikkei index lost 9.6 percent of its value overnight, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 7.2 percent, Great Britain's FTSE 100 fell 5.2 percent and the German DAX declined 7.1 percent.

The day on Wall Street started with stocks plunging quickly. Within seven minutes of the 9:30 a.m. open, the Dow was down 693 points, trading at 7,886.17 -- the lowest point of the day. The last time the Dow closed below 8,000 was March 31, 2003. But stocks rebounded off that low, turning positive briefly at 10:07 a.m. before dropping down more than 500 points again by noon.

Then, late in the day at 3:27 p.m., the Dow climbed out of the abyss and went positive, soaring in less than 10 minutes to 298 points above yesterday's close.

But in the end, stocks couldn't hold on to their gains and investors now look ahead to what next week will bring.

ABC's Charlie Herman contributed to this report.