Tech Companies Lead US Stocks Broadly Lower

Technology companies led stocks broadly lower, getting the market off to a weak start for the month after a strong November, the AP reports. Adobe fell 2.2% Monday and Applied Materials gave up 2.1%. Traders were focusing on more tensions between the US and China and weak reports from the US on manufacturing and construction spending. Homebuilders fell broadly after a government report showed that spending on construction projects declined unexpectedly in October. Hovnanian Enterprises slumped 6.7%. Energy companies held up well as oil prices jumped. Marathon Oil rose 2.7%. The S&P 500 fell 27 points, or 0.9% to 3,113. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 268 points, or 1%, to 27,783. The Nasdaq fell 97 points, or 1.1%, to 8,567. (More stock market stories.)