Wall St tumbles at open on financial jitters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid at the open on Monday as the buyout of troubled Wall Street bank Bear Stearns fueled fears that the global credit crisis is spiraling out of control, diminishing the appetite for riskier assets.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 177.23 points, or 1.48 percent, to 11,773.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 20.76 points, or 1.61 percent, to 1,267.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> tumbled 45.76 points, or 2.07 percent, to 2,166.73.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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