U.S. stocks fell on Monday as investors fretted about Europe's debt crisis ahead of a gathering of euro-zone finance ministers. “We're a little soft in the early going. We have a mixed bag of things coming out this week, with a heavy focus on Europe," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in San Francisco. In Luxembourg, euro-area ministers readied to meet as investors looked for any signals that Spain would ask for rescue funds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41.17 points, or 0.3%, to 13,568.98. Wall Street also took a cautious tone ahead of third-quarter earnings, which begin with Dow component and aluminum producer Alcoa Inc.‘s report, scheduled for release after Tuesday's close. Read: Brace for worst earnings since recession rebound. But Luschini played down any notion that third-quarter results would lead to much more than a 3% to 5% correction, which given Wall Street's climb that has the S&P 500 index up nearly 16% this year, would be due in any event. “Expectations have been sufficiently lowered, so it probably leads to a low hurdle for companies to exceed dumbed-down expectations," he said. The S&P 500 index declined 6.66 points, or 0.5%, to 1,454.21, with technology and finance firms hardest hit among its 10 sectors. The Nasdaq Composite lost 22.53 points, or 0.7%, to 3,113.66. Apple Inc. shares fell 1.8% after a report by China Labor Watch that a Foxconn factory in China had been crippled by a strike. The Taiwanese company denied the report by the labor-watchdog group. For each issue rising more than two fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 98 million shares traded as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Composite volume came to 503 million. “Fixed income is closed today, so a lot of people are absent," added Luschini of the Columbus Day holiday that had the federal government and the bond market shuttered. The World Bank on Monday reduced its forecast for the East Asia and Pacific region, while cautioning the slowdown in China could get worse. Marketwatch
