NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday to kick off a relatively busy week of important events, as uncertainties over the Italian election, which may disrupt the country's fiscal reform and reignite the eurozone debt crisis, weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 216.40 points, or 1.55 percent, to 13,784.17. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index shed 27.75 points, or 1.83 percent, to 1,487.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 45.57 points, or 1.44 percent, to 3,116.25.
Wall Street opened higher on Monday, following a rebound on Friday partly due to the better-than-expected quarterly earnings from Hewlett-Packard.
However, the main stock indices started to retreat after European stocks sharply dropped on the news that former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition was leading in Italy's senate election.
Investors have been closely watching the results of the Italian election, as the new government's decision in the next couple of months could influence the euro area in its efforts to stem the debt crisis.
In the meantime, the market was subdued by the looming U.S. sequester, or automatic federal spending cuts totaling 85 billion dollars starting March 1. President Barack Obama said on Monday that Congress could keep the across-the-board cuts from taking effect with "just a little bit of compromise."
Downbeat economic data also added downside pressure to the equity market.
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) stood at -0.32 in January, down from 0.25 in December, according to a monthly report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on Monday.
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