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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks got hammered Monday, as investors bailed out on confirmation that the U.S. is in a recession and indications that it's likely to continue for some time.

Treasury prices rallied, lowering the corresponding yields. Oil and gold prices plunged. The dollar tumbled versus the yen and gained against the euro.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 680 points, its fourth-biggest single-session decline on a point basis ever, according to early tallies. The decline was 7.7% in percentage terms, the 12th worst percentage one-day decline ever.

In a report released Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed what many have long believed - that the nation is in a recession. According to the NBER, the official body that calls economic cycles, the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007.

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