Dow Closes Below 10,000 for First Time in 3 Months

The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months Monday on nagging concerns about debt loads in Europe.

The Dow, down almost 104 points, had its 10th triple-digit move in 16 trading days. Shares of big banks pulled the market lower, extending a slump that has led to four straight weekly losses.

Mounting deficits in weaker European economies including Greece, Portugal and Spain have raised questions about the health of the global financial system. That compounded concerns about growth in China and proposed U.S. bank regulations took the market down from a 15-month high reached in January.

Greece's finance minister said Monday the government is preparing to boost some taxes to shore up its finances. But civil servants opposed to cutbacks have pledged to strike on Wednesday.

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Brett Hryb, a portfolio manager with MFC Global Investment Management in Toronto, said the latest concern is that the financial troubles in a country like Greece, whose economy is small compared with the rest of Europe, will spill into other countries.

"Clearly Greece itself is nothing. It's just a blip. It's what the contagion could be," he said.

Monday's drop extends the stumble the market began in mid-January. At that time, China announced plans to contain economic growth and the Obama administration proposed rules to restrict trading by large financial institutions.

The Dow fell 103.84, or 1 percent, to 9,908.39. On Thursday, the Dow traded below the psychological barrier of 10,000 for the first time since November. It hadn't closed below that mark since Nov. 4. and first closed above 10,000 in March 1999. The Dow is still up 51.3 percent since last March.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.45, or 0.9 percent, to 1,056.74, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.07, or 0.7 percent, to 2,126.05.

Bond prices edged higher, pushing yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was flat at 3.57 percent from late Friday.