New York, Oct 18 (IANS): US stocks tumbled Monday, with major indexes suffering biggest losses in two weeks, as worries on European debt problems once again weighed on the market, Xinhua reported.
Expectations that a solution to the crisis could be reached at a European summit in Brussels Oct 23 have helped boost sentiment recently. The broader S&P 500, often regarded as a barometer for the market, jumped more than 6 percent last week, its biggest gain since July 2009.
However, stocks were dealt a blow after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said European governments would not yield a definitive solution to the region's debt crisis at the European Union's forthcoming summit.
Financials were leading the decliners. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF, which tracks financial stocks in the S&P 500 Index, was down 3.1 percent.
Wells Fargo plummeted nearly 8.5 percent after the bank reported that its third-quarter revenue had declined from $20.9 billion to $19.6 billion as the banking industry was still struggling in the sluggish economic environment.
Citigroup fell over 1.6 percent even after the bank reported earnings unlike estimates. As of Monday's close, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 247.49 points, or 2.13 percent, to 11, 397.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 tumbled 23.72 points, or 1.94 percent, to 1,200.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 52.93 points, or 1.98 percent, to 2,614.92.