1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks decline following global rout

U.S. stocks fell for the fifth straight session on Monday as a broad-based sell-off in overseas stock markets weighed on Wall Street sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 127.94 points, or 0.73 percent, to 17,440.59. The S&P 500 dropped 12.01 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,067.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 48.85 points, or 0.96 percent, to 5,039.78.

Chinese shares nosedived on Monday as investors unnerved by weak economic data, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunging 8.48 percent, its worst single-day loss in eight years.

Later on Monday, China Securities Finance Corporation, Ltd. ( CSF), the securities watchdog, said it will continue to buy stocks to stabilize the market.

European equities also suffered big losses on Monday as the fall in commodity prices triggered worries of a slowing growth in global economy, with French benchmark index CAC 40 tumbling 2.56 percent.

On the economic front, new orders for manufactured durable goods in June increased 7.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 3.4 percent, to 235.3 billion dollars, beating market consensus, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Monday.

"A base appears to be forming in orders, but it remains to be seen how reliable it is. Orders increases in April and May disappeared in subsequent revisions, meaning capital spending in Thursday's Q2 GDP release is likely to be slightly negative," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Investors were also keeping a close eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day meeting scheduled to begin on Tuesday, which is the last one before September. Endite