US close: Stocks slide after Chinese finmin comments amid global growth fears
US stocks headed south on Monday following comments from the Chinese finance minister, recent weakness in commodity prices and concerns about the outlook for the global economy.
The day saw the S&P 500 suffer its biggest percent decline since 5 August with a 0.82% drop, while the Dow Jones closed 0.62% lower and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.13% below its opening level.
Alpari market analyst, Joshua Mahony, said: "With new all-time highs recorded in the S&P 500 last week, it comes as no surprise that we are seeing an element of profit taking come into the market, which has also been seen in the USD/JPY currency pair following the strongest period of upside since January 2013."
In US macro news, a measure of economic activity by the Chicago Federal Reserve revealed a drop in August, while existing home sales also registered a decline - the first time in five months.
That came as China's finance minister squashed speculation that the government would boost stimulus.
Minister Lou Jiwei said the government will not make any major policy changes in response to weak economic data and downward pressure on growth in the world's second biggest economy.
The weekend also saw both Europe and Japan highlighted as regions that, according to US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, are holding the global economy back. He called on both to do more to help boost the recovery and improve growth.
Mahony said the comments "highlight the importance of success for Mario Draghi and increasingly there appears to be less and less options but to implement a fully blown quantitative easing programme in the near future."
Following this, Monday's session saw the European Central Bank (ECB) president state that the monetary authority is ready to take further action if deemed necessary.
"[The governing council] stands ready to use additional unconventional instruments within our mandate, and alter the size and / or the composition of our unconventional interventions should it become necessary to further address risks of a too prolonged period of low inflation," Draghi said in prepared comments to the European parliament.
Sigma-Aldrich, Apple, Telsa
Back in the States, shares in Sigma-Aldrich leapt by around a third after drugs maker Merck KGaA announced its intention to purchase the company for $17bn.
Apple revealed that in the first weekend of sales, it sold a record 10m iPhones following the release of both the iPhone 6 and 6 plus, which went on sale in 10 countries.
Dress-Rand made modest gains after a takeover deal was announced by engineering giant Siemens AG.
A miss on fourth quarter turnover pushed shares in AutoZone into the red, while Telsa Motors dropped after an analyst at JP Morgan said the group's investors under-estimate its competitive risk.
In other markets, the price of gold had risen 0.11% to $1,217.90 per troy ounce.
S&P 500 - Risers
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL) $136.40 +33.24%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $104.72 +7.57%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $97.25 +7.41%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $92.38 +2.90%
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) $65.32 +1.80%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $149.79 +1.71%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $76.29 +1.01%
Lorillard Inc. (LO) $59.97 +0.96%
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) $57.98 +0.85%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $45.35 +0.80%
S&P 500 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $67.18 -6.29%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $38.65 -5.57%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $12.65 -4.82%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $61.40 -4.58%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $127.80 -4.32%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $122.20 -4.26%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $94.29 -4.15%
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $505.35 -4.01%
Walgreen Co. (WAG) $60.41 -3.93%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $22.97 -3.85%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.25 +0.48%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $84.82 +0.41%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $71.50 +0.35%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $60.60 +0.18%
AT&T Inc. (T) $35.51 +0.11%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $106.50 -1.80%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $100.89 -1.58%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $80.73 -1.32%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $89.30 -1.32%
Visa Inc. (V) $213.93 -1.07%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $123.50 -1.04%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.98 -0.97%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $47.06 -0.97%
American Express Co. (AXP) $88.99 -0.79%
General Electric Co. (GE) $26.10 -0.72%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL) $136.40 +33.24%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $104.72 +7.57%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $92.38 +2.90%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $76.29 +1.01%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $43.73 +0.53%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $359.92 +0.28%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $117.27 +0.19%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $142.19 +0.12%
DIRECTV (DTV) $87.27 +0.02%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $43.01 +0.01%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $214.86 -5.95%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $38.65 -5.57%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $7.96 -5.35%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $61.40 -4.58%
Catamaran Corp (CTRX) $44.66 -4.35%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $122.20 -4.26%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $94.29 -4.15%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $132.19 -3.85%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $250.02 -3.59%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $30.60 -3.26%