Major Stock Benchmarks Hit '04 Lows

Despite those concerns, money managers and analysts took some comfort in the fact that most of the selling on Wall Street occurred in early trading. Bargain hunters emerged later in the day, limiting losses to about 1 percent for the major benchmarks.

Dow said he was urging clients to use down days on the market as an opportunity to buy shares in established, dividend-paying companies that stand to prosper as the domestic economic recovery matures.

But he said many investors he talks to remain deeply uncertain about putting money into stocks. "The good news about job creation makes them feel better," Dow said. "But they are still really concerned about the headlines coming out of Iraq."

Meanwhile, stocks in India plunged 11 percent Monday as investors in that country continued to panic amid concern that the leftist Congress Party, which won a surprise victory in national elections last week, would roll back economic liberalization policies that have helped fuel growth on the subcontinent. Regulators twice halted trading in Bombay to calm the frenzy.

Other Indicators

• The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 62.15, to 6231.19; the American Stock Exchange index fell 1.35, to 1169.85; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 8.42, to 535.34.

• Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by 11 to 5 on the NYSE, where trading volume rose to 1.42 billion shares, from 1.34 billion on Friday. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, decliners outnumbered advancers by 3 to 1 and volume was down slightly at 1.51 billion.

• The price of the Treasury's 10-year note rose $6.25 per $1,000 invested, and its yield fell to 4.69 percent, from 4.77 percent on Friday.

• The dollar rose against the Japanese yen and fell against the euro. In late New York trading, a dollar bought 114.33 yen, up from 114.21 late Friday, and a euro bought $1.2021, up from $1.1886.

• Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery settled at $41.55, up 17 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• Gold for current delivery rose to $379.50 a troy ounce, from $377.00 on Friday, on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Commodity Exchange.