US Stocks Ended In Red Yesterday After A Late-Session Lapse

US stocks plunged during the last trading hours to close lower yesterday, coinciding with the euro’s drop beyond a key threshold. A drop in the euro was triggered in by the news of the possibility of China reviewing its European bond holders. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 69.3 points, or 0.7%, to 9,974.45. After climbing about 135 points during the day, the index closed below the 10,000 mark for the first time since early February. The S&P 500 Index dropped 6.08 points, or 0.6%, to 1,067.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index also slipped 15.07 points, or 0.7%, to 2,195.88. All three indexes were down for the week and the month. Stocks that led the losses on the Dow include Microsoft MSFT, which plunged 4.1% to $25.01, and McDonald's Corp MCD, which dropped 2.7% to $66.01. Telecoms and tech stocks led the losses on the S&P 500, with Sprint S shedding 7.2% to $4.91, Western Digital Corp WDC falling 2.3% to $34.36 and McAfee MFE losing 2.1% to $31.57. Among the measure’s 10 sectors, only industrials managed to close high. Marc Chandler, head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, says, "It is not as if the market needs new reasons to be bearish the euro, but the news that the market seems to be reacting to now is a Financial Times piece." Read more from Benzinga's Markets.