US stocks skidded Monday as investors worried about Europe's latest efforts to contain the deepening eurozone debt crisis.
After opening higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 100.13 points (0.84 percent) to finish at 11,766.26 in thin trade in the final week before the long Christmas holiday weekend.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 32.19 points (1.26 percent) to 2,523.14, and the broader S&P 500 dropped 14.31 points (1.17 percent) to 1,205.35.
"Continued eurozone debt crisis concerns and solid weakness in financials pressured the major US equity markets to start the week," Charles Schwab analysts said in a research note.
"Comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi dampened hopes of more aggressive action from the central bank to help combat the festering debt crisis."
Markets headed lower clouded by more discord in Europe over raising new rescue funds and worries of political instability in North Korea after the death of leader Kim Jong Il.
Banks led the markets down. Morgan Stanley fell 5.5 percent; Citigroup, 4.7 percent; Bank of America, 4.1 percent; and JPMorgan Chase, 3.7 percent.
Caterpillar was among the three gainers on the Dow's 30-stock index, up 0.1 percent.
Merck was the strongest blue-chip riser, up 0.6 percent, followed by Pfizer, up 0.5 percent.
General Motors plunged 5.5 percent to $19.66. GM's former subsidiary Saab filed for bankruptcy Monday after GM blocked its sale to a group of Chinese investors, refusing to allow key technology licenses to fall into the hands of potential competitors.
Wells Fargo Bank fell 2.6 percent after saying it would buy Burdale, a lending division of Bank of Ireland, but without revealing financial details.
Shares in grocery store owner Winn-Dixie rocketed 70.2 percent after another supermarket operator, BI-LO, agreed to buy it and take it private.
The bond market rallied. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.81 percent from 1.85 percent late Friday, while the 30-year bond yield dropped to 2.80 percent from 2.86 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Source: AFP Global Edition
