US stocks moved lower as prices took a hit from continued uncertainty about the fate of a bailout plan for banks in Cyprus and weakness in technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 90.24 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 14421.49. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 12.91 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1545.80.
Stocks spent the day largely in the red, hitting lows around midafternoon in US trading on news out of Cyprus as European officials there wrestled with attempts to craft a bailout plan for the country's troubled banks. Keeping investors uneasy were plans to impose capital controls aimed at preventing money from pouring out of the Cyprus once its bank reopen Tuesday.
The news from Cyprus has been "a little bit of a wake-up call", said Tim Leach, chief investment officer of the Private Client Reserve at US Bank Wealth Management. US Bank oversees $US110 billion in assets. "I think that the average investor has been overly complacent about Europe."
