Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell broadly on Monday extending its recent losing skid to five, as the Chinese equities plunged more than 8% to their lowest level in eight years roiling markets worldwide.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite index each fell sharply, as losses among several major tech stocks weighed. The S&P 500 Composite index also continued its recent downturn remaining just above positive territory for the year. The five-day losing streak among the major indices is its longest in more than six months. While the Dow pared earlier from the morning session when all 30 components were down for the day, it still lost 127.94 or 0.73% to 17,440.59 – falling to its lowest level since February.
The NASDAQ also fell sharply on the session, dropping 48.85 or 0.96% to close at 5,039.78. The S&P 500, meanwhile, dipped 12.01 or 0.58% to 2,067.64, as nine of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Basic Materials, Energy and Technology industries lagged, each falling by more than 0.95% on the session. Utilities stocks led, finishing the day as the only sector in the green.
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) fell more than 5% on Monday, after the world's seventh-largest automaker agreed to a $105 million settlement with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for recall lapses covering million of vehicles. The fine covers a wide range of violations including: misleading and obstructing regulators, failing to alert car owners to recalls in a timely fashion and completing repairs with significant lags. As part of the settlement, the automaker agreed to repurchase 500,000 Dodge Ram trucks with defective suspension parts, completing the largest buyback program in U.S. history.
The top performer on the Dow was GE, which gained 0.18 or 0.70% to 25.93. Shares in GE are now up approximately up 2.3% on the year. The worst performer was Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which slid 3.18 or 2.21% to 140.88.
Shares in Teva Pharmaceuticals spiked more than 16% after the Tel Aviv-based company agreed to purchase Allergan's (NYSE:AGN_pa) generic drug unit for a reported $40 billion. Allergan, a Dublin-based pharmaceutical company, surged 18.66 or 6.05% to 326.87, ending Monday's session as the top performer on the S&P 500.
The acquisition could also impact ongoing negotiations between Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) and Irish-based pharmaceutical Perrigo, providing the Dutch pharmaceutical with less leverage in talks. Shares in Mylan plummeted, as the company reaffirmed its commitment to completing the acquisition. Mylan ended the day as the worst performer on the NASDAQ and S&P 500 after falling 9.62 or 14.59% to 56.32.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), which jumped 7.05 or 4.45% to 165.64, ahead of the release of its quarterly earnings on Thursday. On the S&P 500, Allergan finished just ahead of Amgen, Perrigo and Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) on a bullish day for pharmaceutical stocks.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,292 to 871 margin.