Stocks sank Monday, ending at three-week lows, as the World Bank's weak outlook on global growth and a selloff in commodity prices sent investors heading for the exits. Oil and gold prices slumped and the dollar was mixed.
Treasury prices rallied as investors sought safety, sending the corresponding yields lower.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 200 points, or 2.4%. The S&P 500 fell 28 points, or 3%, and the Nasdaq fell 61 points, or 3.4%.
The World Bank cut its 2009 forecast, predicting that global growth will shrink by 2.9% versus its earlier forecast for a 1.7% contraction. Global trade is expected to plummet 9.7% this year, it said. Developing countries have been especially hard, with the exception of booming China and India.
