NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks plunged Monday, with the Dow down as much as 800 points during the session, as the $700 billion bank bailout plan and European government attempts to prop up faltering banks failed to comfort panicky investors.

But the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) and other major indexes cut losses in the final hour. The Dow ended down just short of 370 points.

The index fell to 9,525.32, the index hit its lowest level during a session since Oct. 24, 2003, when it touched 9,497.72.

Other indexes also cut losses in the final hour.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index, after falling to its lowest point since Sept. 12, 2003, ended with a loss of 3.6%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) ended down 4% after falling to its lowest point since Aug. 28, 2003 during the session.

Credit markets remained tight, with two key measures of bank jitters hitting all-time highs. Treasurys rallied, lowering the corresponding yields as investors sought safety in government debt. Gold rallied for the same reason. Oil dipped. The dollar jumped versus the euro and fell against the yen.

Investors across the board are realizing that the $700 billion U.S. bank bailout was not a cure-all, said Dan Genter, president and CEO at RNC Genter Capital Management. The package involves the Treasury buying bad debt directly from banks in order to get them to start lending to each other again

"Everybody thought that the bailout was a panacea. But it's not, it's a tourniquet that stops the bleeding so the patient doesn't die right away," Genter said.

At first glance, it seemed we had averted the continuation of America's most devasting financial crisis since the "Great Depression." We got in trouble, we panicked, we got the bailout, we panicked again and stocks plummetted amid the feeling the bailout may not be the answer we anticipated. What were we anticipating? What was Wall Street anticipating? Apparently $700 Billion is not enough to keep Wall Street calm and the thought "It's going to get worse before it gets better" did not fare well at all.

The U.S government reacted swiftly to the mounting pressure being placed on our economy. The "Rescue Bill" being enacted into law is merely the end of the begining of a greuling process to bring our financial market to any semblance of normalcy.