( Reuters ) - Stocks fell on Monday as financial shares weakened on news that Germany's largest bank may take a big hit from subprime mortgage investments, while a landmark strike at General Motors raised concern about the economic outlook.
Citigroup and other banks fell after sources familiar with the situation said that exposure to risky U.S. home loans could reduce Deutsche Bank's profit by $2.4 billion.
"It will be a mistake to assume that all the problems in the subprime mortgage market are behind us. I think some of the news about Deutsche Bank today provided us with a reminder of that," said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
The first nationwide strike by autoworkers in 37 years further clouded the outlook for industrial companies. Suppliers of auto parts fell, led by a 3 percent drop in Lear Corp and a nearly 2 percent fall in Johnson Controls Inc. GM edged down.
Some 73,000 workers in the United Auto Workers union went on strike against GM beginning on Monday as negotiators for a new contract were bargaining over the company's proposed cuts in health-care costs and union demands to keep U.S. production jobs.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day down 61.13 points, or 0.44 percent, at 13,759.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended down 8.02 points, or 0.53 percent, at 1,517.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.27 points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,667.95.
Shares of energy companies also declined as oil prices edged lower. Exxon Mobil Corp. shares finished down 0.6 percent at $91.73.
November crude oil fell 67 cents to settle at $80.95 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as energy companies in the Gulf of Mexico began restoring output shut by a storm.