US: Stocks fall for 3rd day as global selloff mounts

[NEW YORK] US stocks joined a global equities selloff Monday as worries about a potential British exit of the European Union overshadowed Microsoft's US$26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn.

Equities on Wall Street fell for the third straight session as polls in Britain showed growing support for Brexit ahead of the June 23 referendum.

LinkedIn surged 46.6 per cent on news it would be acquired in an all-cash deal that will boost Microsoft's presence in social media. Microsoft lost 2.6 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7 per cent at 17,732.48.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent to 2,079.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.9 per cent to 4,848.44.

Apple dropped 1.5 per cent as it opened its annual developer conference in San Francisco by announcing that it plans to expand the role of its Siri artificial intelligence program and to enable the program to interface with non-Apple systems.

Other technology shares were mixed, with Facebook losing 2.3 per cent and biotech Celgene dropping 1.3 per cent. But Twitter, which is sometimes mentioned as a potential acquisition target, rose 3.8 per cent.

Symantec rose 5.3 per cent after announcing it will acquire privately held Blue Coat, which specializes in cloud computing security, for US$4.65 billion.

Most travel-oriented shares fell, with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Continental all losing at least 3.5 per cent.

Expedia dropped 2.3 per cent and Marriott International shed 0.8 per cent. Travel-oriented stocks frequently suffer after attacks such as Sunday deadly shooting at a gay dance club in Orlando, Florida.

But gunmaker Smith & Wesson jumped 6.9 per cent following the Orlando slayings. Gunmakers typically rise after mass shootings on expectations of more firearms purchases as politicians call for gun control legislation.

AFP