Stocks fall on worries that banks' woes are far from over

This was one of those "sell-the-news" trading days that many of the bears were expecting over the last two weeks. Concerns about further credit losses at big banks, spurred by Bank of America's big increase in provisions for bad loans, provided the catalyst.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 287 points, or 3.5 percent, to close at 7,844. Banks led the Dow lower.