U.S. stocks fell Monday despite deal activity from Intel and 3M as investors continued to fret about the health of the economy. The drop came in thin trading.

NYSE Composite volume Monday totaled about three billion shares, making it the lowest volume day this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 140.92 points, or 1.39%, to 10009.73. With just one day left in the month, the measure is off 4.4% for August.

Bank of America was one of the Dow's weakest performers with a drop of 32 cents, or 2.5%, to 12.32. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray pledged to move forward aggressively with two investor lawsuits over Bank of America's disclosures before its acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch.

Intel was also weak with a decline of 41 cents, or 2.2%, to 17.96, after the chip giant agreed to buy the wireless unit of Germany's Infineon Technologies for $1.4 billion.

Conglomerate 3M shed 1.35, or 1.7%, to 79.65. The company agreed to acquire small capitalization Cogent in a deal valued at $943 million, though 3M will only pay $430 million to account for the fingerprint identification systems maker's large cash pile.

Deal activity failed to excite investors as worries about the sustainability of the economic recovery lingered. Weak readings on personal income and Texas-area manufacturing activity added to the market's concerns at the start of a week that includes key reports on manufacturing, unemployment and retailers' same store sales.

Hewlett-Packard was the Dow's lone gainer, with an increase of 56 cents, or 1.5%, to 38.56.

The company, which remains in a battle with Dell for 3Par, authorized an additional $10 billion to buy back its own stock and said it has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for a five year purchase contract that could be worth up to $800 million.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 33.66, or 1.56%, to 2119.97. It is off 6% for the month. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 15.67, or 1.47%, to 1048.92, putting its drop for the month at 4.8%. All of the measure's sectors ended the day in the red, led by financials.

European market

European shares finished flat Monday, as investors digested Genzyme Corp.'s rejection of a buyout bid from Sanofi-Aventis as well as a stronger than expected uptick in U.S. consumer spending.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended virtually unchanged at 251.16. European shares rose Friday in the wake of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's promise to do everything necessary to keep the U.S. economic recovery on track but the rally petered out about midway through the session Monday.

There was evidence that the euro zone recovery remains on track, with the area's economic sentiment indicator continuing to improve in August, rising to 101.8, after a surge in July. The U.K. registered the most significant gain among the largest member states.

U.K. markets were closed Monday for a holiday. In Germany, the DAX 30 index lost 0.7% to 5,912.41 and France's CAC 40 index fell 0.6% to 3,487.04. Greece's ASE Composite index, however, gained 0.9% to 1,561.20.

In Paris, shares of Sanofi-Aventis rose 0.7% after the drug maker publicly disclosed an unsolicited offer to buy U.S. biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. for $18.5 billion, or $69 a share. Genzyme rejected the approach and Sanofi vowed discipline in its pursuit of the deal.

Asian market

Asian markets traded mostly higher Monday, but Japan's shares ended well off the day's highs as traders were disappointed by the Bank of Japan's new easing measures aimed at addressing the country's anemic economic recovery and a high yen.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average, which rose as much as 3.2% during the session, finished the day 1.8% higher at 9,149.26.

Technology and automobile shares narrowed early gains while the yen rebounded after the Bank of Japan's decision disappointed investors looking for a more aggressive approach from the central bank as the nation struggled to deal with a high yen.

Canon rose 2.4%, Honda Motor rose 1.6% and Toyota Motor declined 0.4% all closing at levels below where they were trading before the outcome of the BOJ meeting was announced.

The BOJ decided at a hastily convened policy board meeting Monday to loosen monetary policy further by lengthening the duration of low interest-rate loans available to the money market.

The bank's policy board said the BOJ would lend another $117.6 billion in 6 month loans. It also left the unsecured overnight call loan rate unchanged at 0.1%.

Most other regional markets advanced on news that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged to do whatever it takes to stimulate the shaky U.S. economy.

South Korea's Kospi added 1.8%, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.6%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index snapped a six day losing streak to finish 0.7% higher.

Commodities and metals

Crude oil futures settled slightly lower Monday, dropping after a three session rally as data due this week are expected to show that the economy continues to struggle.

Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery settled 47 cents, or 0.6%, lower at $74.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil on the ICE Futures exchange settled down 5 cents at $76.60 a barrel, with trading light due to a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

Gold futures continued their incremental march higher as market participants remain wary about the economic recovery and anticipate a return of more robust buying of the metal in September.

The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,239.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.