The major market indexes have staggered to their lowest levels in a decade, pulled lower by investors rapidly waning confidence.

The S&P 500 index fell to April 1997 levels Monday and the Dow sunk to October 1997 levels – as investors succumbed to their growing worries about a recession that has no end in sight.

Most financial stocks were pounded even as government agencies led by the Treasury Department said they will launch a revamped bank rescue program that includes the option of increasing government ownership in financial institutions without having to pour more taxpayer money into them.

Although the government has said it doesn’t want to nationalize banks, many investors are clearly still concerned that this could be a possibility as banks continue to suffer severe losses because of the recession. They’re also worried that banks’ losses will keep escalating as the recession sends more borrowers into default.

The market’s decline extends massive losses from last week when the major stock indexes tumbled more than 6 percent. The major indexes plunged through the lows they reached in late November, at the height of the credit crisis.

The S&P 500 lost 2.9 percent to 747.64 at 3:34 p.m. in New York, below its lowest close since April 1997. The six-day losing streak in the U.S. stock benchmark ranks as the longest since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 207.48 points, or 3.41 percent, to 7,114.78, below its lowest close since October 1997. The Russell 2000 Index lost 3.1 percent.

(Source: NBC / Bloomberg.com)