The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 slumped to a 12-year low on Monday on fading confidence that the U.S. government will be able to stabilize the financial system.

Techs lead session decline; IBM falls 5 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 250.89 points, or 3.41 percent, to 7,114.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 26.72 points, or 3.47 percent, to 743.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 53.51 points, or 3.71 percent, to 1,387.72.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Leslie Adler)