Global shares fell on Friday as geopolitical concerns pushed the Turkish lira to a record low against the dollar and rattled investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed almost 200 points lower erasing its gains for the month of August and posted a three-day losing streak. The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to close at 2,833.28 led by a drop in financials and materials. The Nasdaq Composite also pulled back 0.7 percent to 7,839.11 and snapped an eight-day winning streak.
Bank shares led the way lower in the U.S. as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all dropped at least 1 percent. Tech shares also fell as Facebook, Alphabet and Amazon all declined.
The euro was under pressure, falling near a 13-month low on Monday as the purge of the Turkish lira sparked a sharp sell-off in the South African rand and boosted demand for safe havens such as the U.S. dollar and the yen.
After hitting a record low of 7.24 against the dollar early on Monday, Turkey's lira found some support after Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said the government has drafted an economic action plan to ease investor concerns while the banking watchdog said it limited swap transactions.
The South African rand and Mexican peso were also weak against the U.S. dollar on Monday as the lira crisis unsettled other emerging market currencies.
The euro was hit hard on Friday after the Financial Times, citing two sources, reported that the European Central Bank had concerns about banks in Spain, Italy and France and their exposure to Turkey.
EUR/USD slipped to 1.13655 on Monday, its lowest level since July 2017. The common currency also slipped against the safe haven Swiss franc and yen.
EUR/CHF traded at 1.13065, down about half a percent from late last week, dipping to a one-year low of 1.12980 .
It was off about 1 percent against the Japanese yen at 125.27 yen per euro, close to a 2-1/2-month low of 125.26.
