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New York - Wall Street stocks finished sharply lower on Monday, joining a European equity rout, as fears of an economic slowdown weighed especially hard on financial and technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was down more than 400 points at one point, shed 177.92 points (1.10%) to 16 027.05.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 26.61 (1.42%) to 1 853.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 79.39 (1.82%) to 4 283.75
Banking shares fell sharply on worries over deteriorating credit quality in a slowing economy. Bank of America plunged 5.3% and Morgan Stanley 6.9%. Payments companies also retreated with Visa tumbling 5.3% and PayPal Holdings 4.2%.
Among tech names, Facebook lost 4.2%, Amazon 2.8% and Tesla Motors 9.0%.
"There are concerns about overall global growth and appropriate valuation levels for equities across the board," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.
US oil prices closed below $30 a barrel, offering another negative sign to doubters.
The oil slump is "driving economic fears in general," said Morningstar analyst Jim Sinegal.
"People are looking at the slide in energy prices as a symptom that the global economy is deteriorating."
Independent oil and gas company Chesapeake Energy plummeted more than 50% after a report said it hired restructuring experts, raising worries it would soon file for bankruptcy. The company recovered a bit after issuing a statement saying it had no plans to file for bankruptcy protection. It finished down 33.3%.
Lower oil prices also translated into drops for midsized energy producers such as Apache, which lost 3.8%, and oil services companies, including Weatherford International, which lost 2.9%.
But a handful of larger energy names finished higher. Chevron jumped 3.8%, while ExxonMobil gained 1.4% and Schlumberger 1.4%.
Among other major stocks gaining were Apple, rising 1.1%, Johnson & Johnson up 1.5% and Procter & Gamble up 1.8%.
Online ratings site Yelp slumped 11.3% after reporting a loss of $22.2m in the fourth quarter and announcing that chief financial officer Rob Krolik will leave the company.
