Money | stock market Stocks Plunge on Super Committee Failure Dow drops triple digits By Kevin Spak Posted Nov 21, 2011 8:42 AM CST Copied Specialist Donald Vaneck, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Stocks plunged at the opening bell today, thanks to the super committee's failure to reach a deal and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe. As of 9:37am, the Dow was down 158 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P were down 40 and 19 points, respectively, as investors bet that the US would suffer yet another credit rating downgrade. "There's a sense that the US economy is looking down the barrel of a gun but [Washington] cannot figure out what to do," one investor tells the Wall Street Journal. "These downgrades are coming, as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow. They're a foregone conclusion." The US isn't the only country in downgrade trouble, either; the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 2% after Moody's said it might downgrade France in the coming months. Read These Next Trump has threatened to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's citizenship. FEMA failed to answer thousands of calls after the Texas floods. Air India pilots cut off fuel to engines 30 seconds into flight. Newsom turns nickname back on Trump. Report an error