Dollar rallies against other currencies; gold, oil futures drop
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks began lower on Monday, with the S&P 500 index extending losses into a third session, as European leaders differed on how to confront their regional debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.39% fell 40.70 points, or 0.3%, to 13,538.77.
The S&P 500 index SPX -0.45% retreated 5.12 points, or 0.4%, to 1,455.03, with technology hardest hit among its 10 major sectors.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP -0.74% declined 18.30 points, or 0.6%, to 3,161.66.
Apple Inc. AAPL -1.34% was off 0.9% after reporting weekend sales of more than 5 million iPhone 5s, below the projections of some analysts.
Facebook Inc. FB -6.91% shares declined 5.3% to $21.64 after Barron’s estimated the worth of its shares at roughly $15.
For every stock on the rise two fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 81 million shares traded as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time. Composite volume exceeded 320 million.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil prices CLX2 -1.39% slid under $91 a barrel, with a stronger dollar DXY +0.40% making the dollar-denominated commodity less alluring to holders of other currencies.
Global stocks fell after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande reportedly failed to agree on a time frame for beginning joint oversight of Europe’s banking system.
Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.
