U.S. stocks fall amid declining oil

U.S. stocks dropped Monday as crude prices extended the loss.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 347 points, or 2.14 percent, to 15,858. The S&P 500 lost 41 points, or 2.17 percent, to 1,839. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 113 points, or 2.6 percent, to 4,249.

Oil prices plunged as market expected the global supplies to exceed the demand.

Investors also digested recent U.S. economic data. Following Friday's jobs report, there's a lot of uncertainty weighing on markets.

The U.S. Labor Depart reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, well below market consensus of 188,000.

The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 4.9 percent in January, dipping below 5 percent for the first time since 2008.

In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents to 25.39 U.S. dollars, beating market estimates. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent.

U.S. stocks suffered big losses last Friday, as Wall Street digested a batch of weaker-than-expected economic reports. Endit