U.S. stocks closed lower Monday, with all three major indexes falling over 1 percent, as investors worried about Europe's debt problems. In world markets, European stocks tumbled, led by the DAX in Germany falling 2 percent. Asian markets also ended sharply lower, led by the Shanghai Composite plunging 3 percent. U.S. Energy prices have been falling this spring as fears of major Middle Eastern supply disruptions fade, but persistent global demand, weak supply growth, and low U.S. interest rates mean it may not be long until the next oil spike, Goldman Sachs economists said. The U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery fell $2.40 to $97.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $6.50 to $1,515.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 130.78, or 1.1 percent, to 12,381.26. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15.9, or 1.2 percent, to 1,317.37. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 44.42, or 1.6 percent, to 2,758.90.
