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New York - US stocks tumbled on Monday ahead of a raft of corporate reports as earnings season gets into full swing this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 179.11 points (1.09%) at 16,257.94.
The broad-market S&P 500 skidded 23.17 (1.26%) to 1,819.20 and the tech-rich Nasdaq lost 61.36 (1.47%) at 4,113.30.
Stocks opened modestly lower then traded near the flatline until midday, before steadily selling off all afternoon.
Traders were "likely playing their cards close to the vest before 4Q earnings season and the economic calendar kick into gear", Charles Schwab & Co said in a market note.
On Tuesday, before markets open, JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, and Wells Fargo will report earnings and the government will release data on December retail sales covering the important holiday shopping season.
Yoga apparel retailer Lululemon plunged 16.6% after lowering its fourth-quarter revenue and earning guidance and highlighting it saw January sales and traffic trends "decelerate meaningfully".
Fashion retailer Express sank 4.6% after lowering its fourth-quarter guidance and reporting weak January traffic to date.
General Motors fell 1.1% after signalling it was close to resuming dividends, according to media reports. Its Chevrolet brand won the top car and truck of the year awards at the Detroit auto show.
In merger and acquisition news, Beam, the maker of Jim Beam bourbon, agreed to be acquired by Japan's Suntory Holdings for $83.50 a share in a $16bn deal creating the spirit sector's third-largest player.
Beam skyrocketed 24.6% to $83.42.
Google slipped 0.6%. After the market closed, the search giant announced it was buying Nest, a smart-home company that makes thermostats and smoke alarms, for $3.2bn in cash. Shares were up 0.5% in after-hours trading.
Chinese search engine Qihoo 360 Technology rose 3.0% after a Stifel upgrade from "hold" to "buy", saying "2014 is the year of significant search monetization for Qihoo, fueling strong revenue growth and potential upside surprise".
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.83% from 2.86% on Friday, while the 30-year fell to 3.77% from 3.80%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
