Despair over the economy sent Wall Street plunging again today, propelling the Dow Jones industrials down 733 points, or 7.8%, to their second-largest point loss ever.

US stocks rose sharply today, led by strong gains among the blue chips and mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which said it had lined up added financing.

Wall Street surged in a volatile session today, reversing losses incurred on Friday.