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Stocks’ worst day of year sends Dow below 14,000
As Italian, Spanish debt yields surge, U.S. stocks lose five-year highs NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks fell about 1% Monday in their worst drop of the year, as uncertainty over Europe rattled investors and pushed Spanish bond yields higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI:DJIA) ended down 129.71 points, or 0.9%, at 13,880.08. On Friday, it had closed above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007. Only one out of the Dow average’s 30 components — Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) — ended higher on Monday.

While Europe emerging again as an issue for global markets, including Wall Street, analysts for weeks have been saying that a correction or even a pullback of 3% to 5% would be welcome. January’s more than 5% advance, which pushed equities to five-year highs, is seen as an unsustainable trend, and a retreat would draw in sidelined money.

Elliott Spar, market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., put it this way: “The book of excuses has been opened wide this morning in trying to explain this selloff. It goes from European political issues, higher rates on European peripheral debt to the Ravens winning the Super Bowl. How about this: The market was long overdue for a pullback, and buying every dip was just making it too easy for everyone to make a fast buck.”

The S&P 500 Index (SNC:SPX) ended down 17.46 points, or 1.2%, at 1,495.71. On Friday it had closed at its highest since December 2007.

On Monday, all 10 S&P 500 industry groups were in the red, led by losses in tech and financial stocks. McGraw-Hill Cos. (NYSE:MHP) and Moody’s Corp. (NYSE:MCO) were the worst performers, off more than 10% each, after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said the Justice Department was planning to file civil charges for its role in rating certain mortgage-bond securities in 2007. Read: S&P faces DOJ lawsuit over mortgage-bond ratings.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ:COMP) shed 47.93 points, or 1.5%, at 3,131.17.

For every share that rose, nearly four fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 693 million shares traded. Composite volume topped 3.3 billion. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-retreat-from-five-year-highs-2013-02-04?dist=afterbell