U.S. stocks fell Monday as bank shares were hurt by worries about a broad insider trading probe and energy shares took a hit from falling oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 73 points, or 0.7%, to 11131, in early afternoon trading.

All but four of the Dow's 30 components were down, led by Bank of America, off 3.1%, and J.P. Morgan Chase, down 2.6%.Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron also were weak, but pared some of their losses as oil climbed back above $81 a barrel. Exxon was recently off 1.3%, while Chevron fell 1.1%.

Hewlett-Packard was the measure's top performer, rising 1% ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report, due after the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 0.6% to 1193. Financials were its worst performing sector as Ireland's agreement to accept a bailout caused some U.S. investors to worry over the frailty of banks' recovery at home.

The Irish government said Sunday that it had formally applied for tens of billions of euros in aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Adding to the Irish turmoil, the country's ruling Fianna Fail party's grip on power became even more tenuous Monday after its junior coalition partner said it would pull out of the government in the new year.

Stoking fresh worries for the financial sector, the Wall Street Journal reported that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the offices of three hedge funds, Diamondback Capital Management LLC, Level Global Investors LP, and Loch Capital Management LLC, which is based in Boston, amid a far reaching insider trading investigation.

Leading the sector's declines, Goldman Sachs dropped 4.3%, while Marshall & Ilsley fell 3.5% and Regions Financial shed 3.3%. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to 2520. The index was boosted by a 6.6% jump in Novell. An investor group reached a deal to acquire Novell for about $2.2 billion, ending an eight month takeover battle for the software company.

European markets

European stocks ended lower Monday as initial enthusiasm over news of a financial bailout for Ireland gave way to worries that the deal may not safeguard the markets from further debt related fallout. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7% to close at 267.74, after hitting an intraday high at 271.68. Stocks across Europe had already begun heading south when Moody's Investors Service said that a review of Ireland's Aa2 rating would likely result in a multi-notch downgrade.

Also, the Irish Green Party said it would leave the coalition government once a budget and rescue plan are in place, setting the stage for a January general election. The Irish ISEQ index fell 1.4% to 2,758.06, weighed down by heavy losses for financials. Contagion worries also remain, with Irish troubles threatening to spill over to other countries already flagged for potential financial problems, such as Portugal and Spain.

Spain's IBEX 35 index fell 2.7% to 9,996.40, while Portugal's PSI 20 index fell 1.4% to 7,787.64. Irish financial stocks came under pressure after Prime Minister Brian Cowen Sunday said they would need to become smaller as part of the bailout. He also reportedly said they may need to raise more capital.

Against this backdrop, shares of Bank of Ireland skidded more than 19%, while Allied Irish Banks PLC dropped 6.2%. Among other financial shares, Irish Life & Permanent Group Holdings PLC plunged 27%. In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 0.9% to close at 5,680.83, led by losses for financials such as Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, down 4.6%. It's viewed as having the most exposure to Ireland.

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC fell 4.2% and Legal & General Group PLC lost nearly 3%. The German DAX 30 index failed to hold gains, losing 0.3% to end at 6,822.05. Automotive shares lessened the impact of selling in Frankfurt, with BMW AG rising 1.8% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch said it was reinstating coverage of BMW, Volkswagen AG and Porsche Automobil Holding with buy ratings. In Paris, the CAC 40 index fell 1.1% to close at 3,818.89, with autos there also rising. Renault SA gained 1.5% and PSA Peugeot Citroen SA added 0.9%. On the downside, shares of Societe Generale SA slipped 2.8% and Credit Agricole SA fell 3.8%.

Asian markets

Asian stock markets closed mostly higher Monday though Chinese banks weighed on the mainland and Hong Kong markets. In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.9%, South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 0.2% and Taiwan's main index gained 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.2% lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4%.

Mainland banks dragged on the indexes in Hong Kong and China after China's central bank said Friday it would raise banks' reserve requirement ratio by 0.50 percentage point from Nov. 29. Bank of China was down 0.9% in Hong Kong and slid 1.2% on the mainland, while Bank of Communications' H-shares fell 0.2% and its A-shares were 2.1% lower.

Property developers in Hong Kong ended down after the Hong Kong government slapped additional stamp duties on properties that are resold within two years and raised down payment requirements on high-end home purchases to curb speculation in the local housing market. Cheung Kong fell 3.2%, Sun Hung Kai Properties was down 3.1% and Henderson Land ended 2.3% lower. Real estate agency Midland Holdings slumped 17% to HK$6.49 on concerns about a plunge in transaction volumes in the short term.

Base metals

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Monday after moving down in line with the euro, which reversed early gains. LME three month copper closed the day at $8,289 a metric ton, down 1.4% on Friday's PM kerb close. Figures that showed refined copper imports in China, the world's top metals consumer, fell in October to a fresh monthly low for 2010 also weighed on the market.

Oil futures declined Monday on worries that other euro-zone countries could be next in line after Ireland agreed to a bailout. Light, sweet crude for January delivery settled 24 cents lower at $81.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Ireland over the weekend agreed to accept an aid package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, bringing an end to unease over whether the debt ridden country would accept the assistance.

Markets were initially cheered by the decision but reversed course on fears that other troubled euro-zone economies might be next in line. Gold futures rose modestly amid unease about Ireland's bailout request, but a stronger dollar capped gains. The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, gained $5.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,357.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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