(By Balachander) U.S. stocks closed sharply lower as fresh concerns over the mounting financial woes in Spain dented the sentiment.
S&P 500 Index declined 0.89 percent to close at 1,350.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.79 percent to end at 12,721.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.20 percent to finish at 2,890.15.
With no major domestic economic data scheduled for the day, investors weighed developments in Europe as latest hints from Spain pointed that the country could require a full bailout. Spain's central bank said the economy shrank 0.4 percent in the second quarter.
The yield on Spain's 10-year government bonds jumped to 7.45 percent, above the 7 percent level at which Greece and Portugal were forced to seek bailouts. Spain's Murcia region has reportedly sought help from the government for financial aid after Valencia.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated that it may not participate in further aid for Greece, Germany's Der Spiegel reported quoting unidentified officials in the European Union. The IMF has dismissed the weekend news report, Reuters reported.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: MCD, NRG, PEET, HAS, HAL, GEN, AKRX, GY, WTSLA
In corporate news, McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) retreated 2.88 percent after the Oak Brook, Illinois-based restaurant operator posted results for the second quarter that fell short of market expectations.
NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) jumped 8.14 percent after the Princeton, New Jersey-based power generation company agreed to acquire rival Genon Energy Inc. (NYSE:GEN) for $1.7 billion in shares to create the largest U.S. independent power producer. GEN shares surged 25.82 percent.
Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. (NASDAQ:PEET) jumped 27.80 percent after the company agreed to be taken private by Joh A. Benckiser for about $1 billion. The deal represents a premium of about 29 percent over Peet's previous closing price.
Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) rose 3.99 percent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings on lower costs and the toy maker sees growth for the full year, excluding the impact of foreign exchange.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL) added 2.40 percent after the oilfield services company posted quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street estimates, spurred by double-digit revenue growth at all of its regions.
Akorn Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) tumbled 7.85 percent after Deutsche Bank lowered its rating on shares of the Lake Forest, Illinois-based pharmaceuticals company to "Hold" from "Buy", citing multiple reasons.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:TXN) is due to post its quarterly results after the market closes. The Dallas, Texas-based chipmaker is expected to earn 41 cents a share on revenue of $3.35 billion.
Gencorp Inc. (NYSE:GY) rallied 12.30 percent after the maker of aerospace propulsion systems agreed to pay $550 million to acquire United Technologies Corp.'s (NYSE:UTX) Rocketdyne unit, which is currently part of Pratt & Whitney.
Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ:WTSLA) lost 10.14 percent after the California-based women apparel retailer fired its Chief Executive Susan McGalla and the company forecasted a wider quarterly loss.
Global Markets:
European markets plunged on worries over the region's debt crisis. Germany's DAX fell 3.18 percent to close at 6,419.33. France's CAC40 declined 2.89 percent to finish at 3,101.53. U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 2.09 percent to end at 5,533.87.
Asian markets closed lower tracking global cues, with China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index falling 1.26 percent to finish at 2,141.40. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.86 percent to end at 8,508.32. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 2.99 percent to end at 19,053.47. India's BSE Sensex finished at 16,877.35, down 1.64 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Crude oil futures retreated 3.83 percent to $88.31 per barrel while natural gas futures added 1.04 percent to $3.113 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures dipped 0.40 percent to $1,576.4 per ounce and silver futures declined 1.07 percent to $27.010 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro shed 0.19 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.2135. The British pound lost 0.63 percent against the greenback to 1.5523, while the dollar dropped 0.11 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.3900.