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New York - US stocks tanked on Monday on worries about the eurozone and sinking oil prices as the euro hit a nine-year low against the dollar and US crude slid below $50 a barrel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 331.34 points (1.86%) to 17 501.65.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 37.62 (1.83%) to 2 020.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 74.24 (1.57%) to 4 652.57.
US equity markets took their cue from hard-hit European bourses that plummeted on revived eurozone fears.
Greek stocks sank more than 5%, while the Paris, Madrid and Milan exchanges fell more than 3% as markets fixated on the January 25 election in Greece.
Over the weekend, the Der Spiegel weekly quoted German government sources as saying that Berlin sees a Greek exit from the eurozone as "almost inevitable" should the left-wing Syriza party win the snap poll.
US oil prices finished at $50.04 a barrel, down 5% after sliding below $50 a barrel earlier.
"Lower oil prices are usually positive for the economy in the long term, but here the drop has been very rapid," said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets.
"That's been a source of anxiety for markets."
Petroleum-linked equities retreated. Dow member Chevron lost 4.0%, oil-services company Schlumberger fell 2.7% and shale producer Continental Resources sank 10.7%.
Large banks also suffered. Dow member JPMorgan Chase dropped 3.1%, Citigroup shed 3.2% and Bank of America lost 2.9%.
Several high-flying technology stocks fell sharply. Netflix lost 5.1%, Priceline dropped 3.9% and Tesla Motors gave up 4.2%. Apple lost 2.8%.
Dow member Caterpillar fell 5.3% after JPMorgan Chase lowered its recommendation on the company.
Dow member Coca-Cola was flat following an upgrade from Morgan Stanley, which predicted the soft drinks maker's sales and profit margins would rise in 2015.
Bond prices jumped. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.04% from 2.12% on Friday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.60% from 2.70%.
