Wall Street hits a 12-year low as stocks nosedive

US stocks registered some of the biggest losses on Monday, plummeting to levels not seen in over the past 12 years as investors dumped risky investments weighed down by a global recession.

The falling stock prices sent Wall Street's two main stock indices - the Dow and S&P 500 - tumbling to their lowest levels since 1997.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 250 points, or 3.4 per cent, ending at the lowest point since 7 May 1997 while the S&P 500 index lost 26 points, or 3.5 per cent, and ended at the lowest point since 11 April 1997.

The technology stock-laced Nasdaq composite index, which held up better than other markets, lost 53 points, or 3.7 per cent to end at its lowest since 20 November 2008.

Stocks turned volatile after reports that the US government is in talks with banking major Citigroup Inc to raise its stake to 40 per cent, stopping short of nationalisation.

Investors are also worried abut the nil impact of government measures on the health of US financial markets and the markets in general.

Investors in the market continue to lose money and don't know when they are going to stop losing money.

Reflecting the trend, shares of mining group Alcoa dropped 48 cents or 7.6 per cent to $5.81 while General Electric shares fell 53 cents, or 5.7 per cent, to $8.85 on Monday.

GE  has been hit hard by risks at its financial services arm GE Capital, which affected dividend payout at the industrial conglomerate.