The Dow plunged below 9,000 points today as the credit crisis continued to cause devastation in the markets.

The slump came on the  anniversary of the Dow’s record high of 14,279.

The benchmark indexhas lost over a third of its value since then.

The index was dragged down by General Motors (NYSE:GM). The car maker fell to a 58-year low as sales in Europe dried up.

This from Reuters:

The energy sector was the top drag on the Dow as the price of oil fell.

“We’ve got a disappointment that everything that’s been done to date and everything that’s being contemplated has not had any significant impact … to reduce the credit freeze-up and it now looks like it’s spread worldwide,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at Morgan Asset Management, in Birmingham, Alabama.

“You’ve got investors concerned that the global slowdown that had been feared may be materializing, courtesy of the frozen credit markets.”

PS.  Earlier today, Eric Roseman recommended investors hold reverse ETFs like Short Dow30 ProShares (AMEX:DOG) or Short S&P500 ProShares (AMEX:SH) in their portfolio. These funds are sitting on gains of 3.5% and 4.2% just in today’s trading session