Wall Street’s worst fears came to pass today, when the government’s financial bail-out plan failed in Congress and stocks plunged precipitously – hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points in their largest one-day point drop ever.

Wall Street ended an arduous first half quietly with stocks showing mostly modest declines.

Wall Street plunged today, pulling the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 360 points as investors found themselves confronted by two uncomfortable prospects: an end to interest rate cuts and a slowing US economy.