Stocks Ended Lower on Cypriot Bailout Plan

U.S. stocks dropped on Monday, on conflicting reports as whether Cyprus had cancelled a vote on a euro- zone proposal to tax bank deposits to help fund a bailout for the island nation. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 62.05 points, or 0.43 percent, to end at 14,452.06. The S&P 500 lost 8.60 points or 0.55 percent, to finish at 1,552.10. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.48 points or 0.35 percent, to close at 3,237.59.

Cypriot ministers scrambled to revise a plan to seize money from bank deposits before a parliamentary vote on Tuesday that will either secure the island’s financial rescue or threaten its default.

A gauge of confidence among home builders declined in March to the lowest level since October, hurt by weaker views on current sales of single-family homes, a trade group said Monday. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing-market index decreased to 44 in March from 46 in February for a second month of declines.

Electronic Arts’ Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello has resigned, saying he was “accountable” for the company’s missing operational targets. Riccitiello will step down from his post as CEO and member of the board of directors on March 30, the video game company said on Monday.

A brewing conflict between Amazon.com Inc and its merchants over fee hikes could benefit rival eBay Inc, and provide an opening for Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Google Inc, which are just getting into the space.

Amazon’s online bazaar generates margins many times higher than traditional retail as the company takes a cut of every sale on its site made by a merchant, known as a third-party seller, and charges extra fees for handling logistics.