Wall St. slides on global rout, bank woes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slumped at the open on Friday, with the benchmark S&P 500 falling below the 900 mark, as fears that tighter credit may send the global economy into recession slashed the appetite for risk.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slid 401.27 points, or 4.68 percent, to 8,177.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 6.43 percent, or 58.48 points, at 851.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 69.09 points, or 4.20 percent, at 1,576.03.

(Editing by James Dalgleish)