Investing.com -- U.S. stocks embarked on a roller-coaster of volatility during a historic session, fading after a midday comeback on an uneasy day for investors triggered by mounting instability in China.
During overnight trading, a lack of activity from the People's Bank of China spooked equity markets worldwide, as the fallout continued from the release of disappointing manufacturing data late last week. As a result, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down by 8.5%, its worst one-day performance in six years, pushing equities throughout Europe broadly lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by approximately 1,000 points shortly after Monday's open before staging a dramatic midday comeback. All three major U.S. indices suffered sharp declines early in Monday's session amid losses among mid and large-cap stocks with strong exposure to China, before rallying near the close of European markets, falling early in the afternoon session and fluctuating wildly as expected in the final hour of trading. At one point, the Dow fell as much as 5.6% extending a 500-plus point loss on Friday. The NASDAQ Composite index dropped by as much as 8%, amid steep declines in biotech and semiconductor stocks, while the S&P 500 Composite index plunged by as much as 5% to fall into correction territory.
Shortly after, however, a wave of long orders in AAPL shares helped inspire a brief rally among the major indices. After closing above $105 on Friday, AAPL shares plunged to $92 at 9:30 EST then rebounded sharply to $102 only 15 minutes later. Analysts even held out hope that the Dow could close flat on the day after it moved above 16,320 (down approximately 145 points) in mid-day trading, before falling back again in the afternoon session. For the day, the Dow closed at 15,871.28, down 588.47 or 3.58%. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, lost 179.79 or 3.82% to 4,526.25, dropping more than 15% below its all-time high reached in July.
The S&P 500 dropped 77.68 or 3.94% to 1,893.21, as stocks in all 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Financials, Health Care and Basic Materials industries lagged, each falling by more than 4%. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which derives roughly 30% of its total revenue from products made in China, closed at 103.70, down 2.06 or 1.95%.
Last Friday's weak Chinese manufacturing reading, its lowest in six years, underscores persistent sluggishness in the world's second-largest economy. Although Chinese GDP grew by 7% over the first half of 2015, many analysts believe China's economy is decelerating and could suffer its slowest full-year growth in a quarter century.
The top performer on the Dow was INTC, which fell 0.08 or 0.30% to 26.48. All 30 components on the Dow closed in the red. The worst performer was JPM, which dipped 2.83 or 4.45% to 60.77.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was GMCR, which rose 1.23 or 2.45% to 51.37. Shares in Keurig, one of the world's top coffee companies, still remain down more than 55% over the last year. The worst performer was CTXS, which fell 6.21 or 8.40% to 67.70.
The top performer on the S&P was GAS, which surged more than 28% to 61.45. Earlier on Monday, Southern Co. became the second-largest utility company in the U.S. following its $8 billion acquisition of AGL, valued at $66 per share. The worst performer was Texas-based crude producer NFX, which fell 3.08 or 9.99% to 27.74. On Monday, U.S. crude futures fell below $39 to fresh six-year lows.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 3,076 to 151 margin.