US stocks closed lower Monday, led by retailers as crude oil climbed above 120 dollars per barrel, the dpa reported.
Shares in Yahoo plummeted 15 per cent, the most in nearly two years, after software giant Microsoft abandoned its 50-billion-dollar bid for the internet company, leading technology stocks lower.
Crude oil for June delivery closed at 119.97 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reaching 120.36 dollars earlier. A stock index of retailers dropped 2.4 per cent.
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, in an interview with Bloomberg News, said the United States was in a recession that could potentially last until the end of the year.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88.66 points or 0.68 per cent to 12,969.54. The broader Standard & Poor 500 Index was down 6.41 points or 0.45 per cent to 1,407.49. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 12.87 points or 0.52 per cent, to 2,464.12.
The dollar fell to 64.53 euro cents from 64.82 euro cents on Friday, and to 104.83 Japanese yen from 105.35 yen.
Gold rose 16.40 dollars to 874.40 dollars per fine ounce.