US Stocks Close August On Sour Note; DJIA Off 48 Pts

An overnight stock market slide in China spooked investors in U.S. industrial, materials and energy companies, including Caterpillar, Alcoa and Exxon Mobil, as a flight to safety weighed on U.S. stocks Monday.

Since peaking on Aug. 4, the Shanghai Composite has given back nearly a quarter of its value, including a drop of 6.7% on Monday. Throughout the world, and especially in the U.S., investors have been touting China as further along the recovery cycle, which has in turn lifted several stock market sectors in the U.S. Throughout the U.S. stock market's run since hitting decade-long lows in March, metals and energy stocks have been at the forefront.

But on Monday, materials stocks were weighed down as more China declines created trepidation. Within the Dow Jones Industrial Average, aluminum giant Alcoa lost 45 cents, or 3.6%, to 12.05. Other decliners in the index included Caterpillar, down 1.40, or 3%, to 45.31, and Exxon Mobil, off 97 cents, or 1.4%, to 69.15, as the oil giant was weighed down by a decline in crude prices. (more)