1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks retreat further on falling oil

U.S. stocks tumbled for a second straight session on Monday, as oil prices resumed their downward trajectory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 177.92 points, or 1.10 percent, to 16,027.05. The S&P 500 slid 26.61 points, or 1.42 percent, to 1,853.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 79.39 points, or 1.82 percent, to 4,283.75.

Oil prices plunged on Monday, with the U.S. crude settled bellow 30 U.S. dollars a barrel again, as oversupply concerns dominated the market after a Saudi-Venezuela meeting during weekend failed to reach an agreement on actions to boost oil prices.

Oil prices have been traded near multi-year lows recently. Many analysts do not expect oil prices will recovery soon amid concerns about a slowdown in global growth.

In the absence of major economic data, investors were still sifting through Friday's mixed jobs report.

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.

Overseas, European equities also suffered big losses Monday on worries about global economy. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange dived 3.30 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index shed 2.71 percent.

In Asia, Japanese stocks erased earlier losses to close higher Monday, with the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rising 1.10 percent. Chinese markets are closed this week for the Lunar New Year holiday. Enditem