Stocks Ended Lower, Dow Off 140 Points

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Monday, as Treasury prices rose in choppy trading following comments from some Fed policymakers that downplayed worries over the end to the central bank’s bond-buying program. After dropping 248 points
during the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 139.84 points, or 0.94%, at 14,659.56. The S&P 500 index fell 19.34 points, or 1.21%, to end at 1,573.09 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 36.49 points, or 1.09%, to
3,320.76.

Jefferies & Co outlined price guidance on the $5.2 billion in term loans backing Carl Icahn’s bid for computer manufacturer Dell Inc, sources said.

Gold futures in India, the world’s biggest buyer of the metal, extended losses to their lowest level in three weeks, though physical sales remained lacklustre as seasonally dull demand weighed.

Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. on Monday unveiled a partnership that would let Oracle software run on Microsoft’s enterprise platforms, including its Windows Azure cloud infrastructure.