US stocks fell on Monday as shares of energy and commodity-related companies tumbled on falling oil and metals prices.
The drop in the price of oil and other commodities was partly on concern that a global slowdown would blunt demand.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.17 points, or 0.37% to 11,284.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 11.30 points, or 0.90%, to 1,249.01, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 25.40 points, or 1.10%, to 2,285.56.
Exxon Mobil shares dropped nearly 4%, while miner Freeport McMoran's shares slid 12%.
The tone for the financial sector was set early in the session, after HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, reported a 28% drop in first-half profit as it took a $US14 billion hit from bad debts on US home loans and asset write-downs.
Wachovia Corp fell almost 10% after a Wall Street analyst suggested investors unload shares of the fourth-largest US bank.
US economic data pointing to mounting inflation pressures added to the market's concerns, as did news that WCI Communities, a major US home builder, had filed for bankruptcy.
