The Dow Jones industrial average was ripped for a 679-point loss yesterday, its largest ever, as the market reopened after a four-session trading halt, to a world of heightened uncertainty created by air attacks that destroyed the World Trade Centre last week.

Despite a half-percentage point cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve just before the opening and fleeting hopes of patriotic buying, support was kicked out from under stocks. Pessimism about the massive terror attack's impact on the already wheezing US economy and worries about American military action ruled the day.

Amid record-breaking volume, airlines, hotels, and leisure-related stocks suffered the most intense selling, while the few winners included defence contractors like Raytheon and hand gun maker Sturm Ruger Co, as investors bet on US retaliation and consumers becoming more security conscious.

"There's a lot of emotion in today's market as many people were affected by the tragedy," said Mr Peter Coolidge, managing director of equity trading at Brean Murray & Co.