The Dow Jones industrial average suffered its biggest point drop in history yesterday as worried investors rushed for the exit door, afraid that the Southeast Asian financial crisis may not be over.

The Dow ended down 554.26 points, or 7.1 per cent, at 7,161.15, beating the 508-point drop of the October 1987 crash. The New York Stock Exchange halted trading under rules instituted following the '87 plunge.

In the broader market, declining issues swamped advances 29-1 on very active volume of 693 million shares on the NYSE. The Nasdaq composite index slumped 115.43 points, or nearly 7 per cent, to 1,535.49.