Banks drag US stocks down

New York - Falling bank shares dragged US stock markets down for the fourth straight trading day on Monday, with worries their margins would be under pressure from the slow economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 61.30 points (0.50%) lower at 12 089.96.

The tech-focused Nasdaq slid 30.22 (1.11%) to 2 702.56, while the broad-based S&P 500 lost 13.99 (1.08%) at 1 286.17.

"Investors continued to stew about last week's ugly unemployment report, which fueled concerns about a stalled economy and the potential ramifications on the financial sector," said Andrea Kramer of Schaeffer's Investment Research.

"Along with banking-related equities, the airline sector paced the broad-market retreat, after a downwardly revised industry profit forecast sent stocks into a tailspin."

Financial shares tumbled with Bank of America dropping 4.0% and Citigroup 4.5%.