U.S. stocks closed down by approximately 1% on Monday amid differing comments from Europe’s finance ministers and the head of the European Central Bank on the debt crisis of the region. ECB President Mario Draghi dashed hopes by informing that ECB is not likely to increase its bond purchasing. His comment was described as the last nail in the coffin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.8% or 100.13 points at 11,766.26. Bank of America Corp. was the leading decliner after falling by 4.1%. The S&P 500 was down by 1.2% or 14.31 points at 1,205.35. Banks shares were hardest hit following reports that the Federal Reserve is considering to impose a condition on giant banks to keep additional funds. Out of all 10 S&P 500 industry groups, the S&P 500 financial subsector declined by over 2%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped by 1.3% or 32.19 points to 2,523.14. After erratic movements, futures for January crude rose by 35 cents and closed at $93.88 per barrel. February gold closed at $1,596.70 per ounce after declining by $1.20. The dollar increased against major currencies. The dollar index that evaluates the value against a basket of 6 currencies fractionally increased to 80.372.
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