Investing.com - U.S. stocks were sharply lower on Monday, after Moody’s said it intends to review the credit ratings of all European Union countries amid sustained concerns over the handling of the region’s debt crisis.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.30%, the S&P 500 index plunged 1.55%, while the Nasdaq Composite index plummeted 1.62%.
Moody’s Investors Service said it will review the ratings of all EU countries in the first quarter, adding that last week’s economic summit failed to deliver “decisive policy measures” to end the region’s debt crisis.
European Union leaders agreed Friday to implement stricter budgetary rules across the euro zone and to provide EUR200 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund to assist countries with debt problems.
But investors remained jittery after the European Central Bank indicated that it had no plans to increase its bond purchasing program, capping its weekly bond purchases at EUR20 billion.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals saw shares plunge 3.74% after the Food and Drug Administration said it would not place the firm's application for approval of myeloma drug, known as c-mib, on priority review.
Elsewhere, Intel tumbled 3.56% after UBS lowered its view on the company for the first quarter in 2012 and the firm cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast.
Also in the technological sector, U.S. telecom company Adtran plummeted 4.07% after struggling equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks agreed to sell its fixed line Broadband Access business unit to the U.S. firm as part of a revamp of its operations.
Boeing saw shares decline 0.38% although Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said in a statement on Monday it will buy 12 planes from the U.S. firm, in a deal valued at USD2.8 billion at current list prices.
Shares in ConocoPhillips were also on the downside, tumbling 1.29% even after the company made a gas find in the southern North Sea near BP's Ula oil and gas field.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly lower, tracking their European counterparts. Citigroup plunged 3.80% and Bank of America tumbled 2.28%, while Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan retreated 2.38% and 1.99% respectively.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 2.39%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 1.89%, Germany's DAX plummeted 2.49%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 2.52%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.15% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 1.4%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on the federal budget balance.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.30%, the S&P 500 index plunged 1.55%, while the Nasdaq Composite index plummeted 1.62%.
Moody’s Investors Service said it will review the ratings of all EU countries in the first quarter, adding that last week’s economic summit failed to deliver “decisive policy measures” to end the region’s debt crisis.
European Union leaders agreed Friday to implement stricter budgetary rules across the euro zone and to provide EUR200 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund to assist countries with debt problems.
But investors remained jittery after the European Central Bank indicated that it had no plans to increase its bond purchasing program, capping its weekly bond purchases at EUR20 billion.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals saw shares plunge 3.74% after the Food and Drug Administration said it would not place the firm's application for approval of myeloma drug, known as c-mib, on priority review.
Elsewhere, Intel tumbled 3.56% after UBS lowered its view on the company for the first quarter in 2012 and the firm cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast.
Also in the technological sector, U.S. telecom company Adtran plummeted 4.07% after struggling equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks agreed to sell its fixed line Broadband Access business unit to the U.S. firm as part of a revamp of its operations.
Boeing saw shares decline 0.38% although Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said in a statement on Monday it will buy 12 planes from the U.S. firm, in a deal valued at USD2.8 billion at current list prices.
Shares in ConocoPhillips were also on the downside, tumbling 1.29% even after the company made a gas find in the southern North Sea near BP's Ula oil and gas field.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly lower, tracking their European counterparts. Citigroup plunged 3.80% and Bank of America tumbled 2.28%, while Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan retreated 2.38% and 1.99% respectively.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 2.39%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 1.89%, Germany's DAX plummeted 2.49%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 2.52%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.15% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 1.4%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on the federal budget balance.