Monday Afternoon Cheat Sheet: 3 Stories That Moved Markets

What was, for a short time, a great morning on Wall Street turned into the worst day since November. After starting higher, the U.S. equity markets consistently shed value over the course of the day to end about 1.5 percent lower across the board. To blame is an unattractive cocktail of domestic and international economic concerns.

At the close: DJIA: -1.55%, S&P 500: -1.83%, NASDAQ: -1.44%.

Here are three stories that moved the markets on Monday:

1) Elections in Italy stole headlines on Monday, as relief at what first looked like a victory for the center-left Democrats — the favored party of international investors — turned into fear that Berlusconi’s conservative party would win the country’s upper house, and the election would yield a hung parliament.