Stocks fell on Monday for a third session, with major indices all declining 1 percent, as investors shed high-profile assets, including several big-name tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed unofficially 166 points lower, the S&P 500 was down 20 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 47 points.
"Investors are moving out of many areas of the market that performed well last year. In particular, the Internet, social media and biotechnology industries are experiencing some notable weakness," Russ Koesterich, BlackRock's global chief investment strategist, wrote in afternoon commentary.
"The momentum meltdown continues to be the story," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, referring to the bashing of Internet names, which included Amazon.com, the Priceline Group, Google and Apple.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil futures for May delivery fell 70 cents to $100.44 a barrel. Gold futures for June delivery dropped $5.20 to $1,298.30 an ounce.
The U.S. dollardeclined against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note used in figuring mortgage rates and other consumer loans fell 3 basis points to 2.695 percent.
Stocks also sold off in both Europe and Asia, led by the technology sector. The downturn on international exchanges followed a 2.6 percent slump on the Nasdaq on Friday, its second-worst one-day loss of the year.
The unofficial start of the quarterly earnings season begins after Tuesday's close, with aluminum producer Alcoa slated to release results. Banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo also report this week.
