NEW YORK — Stocks ended October with steep losses. Investors were worried about the collapse of the brokerage MF Global and missing details in Europe’s plan to contain the Greek debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 276 points Monday but still had its best month since October 2002. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had its best month since December 1991.
The main reason for the rally was progress in Europe toward containing its debt crisis. The big breakthrough came early Thursday, when European leaders reached an agreement aimed at shoring up the region’s banks and preventing a debt crunch in Greece from bringing down Europe’s financial system.
But a lack of many key details in the plan has made investors uneasy again. And Monday, fresh reminders of how the Europe crisis can affect U.S. financial institutions helped bring the market lower.
Bank stocks fell sharply after the brokerage MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection. Last week, the company’s debt was downgraded to junk status by ratings agencies concerned about its large holdings of European government debt. The company is headed by former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs chairman Jon Corzine. Morgan Stanley slumped 8.7 percent, Citigroup Inc. fell 7.5 percent.
The Dow fell 276.10 points, or 2.3 percent, to close at 11,955. The Dow closed above 12,000 on Thursday and Friday, but prior to that, it hadn’t closed above 12,000 since Aug. 1. The S&P 500 index fell 32, or 2.5 percent, to 1,253.30. Materials and energy companies fell the most. The Nasdaq composite index fell 53, or 1.9 percent, to 2,684.
Five stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Monday that European economies will see a “marked slowdown” next year. The organization called on the European Union to provide more information on how it plans to stem the debt crisis.
