Euro zone worries knock stocks; dollar gains

Wall Street closed its best month in 20 years on a down note on Monday as the failure of trading firm MF Global Holdings Ltd and new worries about Europe's debt crisis hammered financial shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 276.10 points, or 2.26 percent, to 11,955.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 31.79 points, or 2.47 percent, to 1,253.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 52.74 points, or 1.93 percent, to 2,684.41.

European share prices ended the last session of the month well in the red, as revived concerns over Italy's indebtedness and US broker MF Global's bankruptcy filing prompted investors to take some profits on the month's gains.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended the session 2.2 percent lower at 996.01 points, reversing most of last Thursday's sharp relief rally.

The Nikkei stock average ended lower, giving up sharp intraday gains made after Japanese authorities intervened to curb persistent yen strength, as investors locked in profits on concerns the yen won't stay down for long.

The Nikkei rose as much as 1.1 percent to a three-month intraday high after the dollar spiked against the yen, and some investors used the opportunity to take profits.