Stocks slide on darkening global view, oil's slide

U.S. stocks regained ground shortly before the close of trading Monday after plunging earlier in the day amid concerns about global growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) recovered from a decline of nearly 400 points earlier in the session to close at 16,027, down 178 points, or 1.1 percent. The S&P 500 (SPX) dropped 27 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,853, with financial companies damaged most among the index's 10 major sectors, all of which were in the red.

Despite the comeback, "It seems as though investors are taking the perspective of the glass is half empty, with the stress manifested in European bank shares, and now U.S. financial shares," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "Maybe no matter how much monetary intervention occurs, it is unlikely to be enough to combat deflationary pressures."

Selling pressure was particularly strong in technology stocks, with the Nasdaq composite index down nearly 20 percent from its all-time high in 2015. After falling more than 130 points, the Nasdaq Composite (comp) lost 79 points, or 1.8 percent, to end at 4,284.

Monday's market decline extends losses for stocks in 2016, which are off to their worst-ever start to a year.

The price of oil dropped as a meeting between two producers -- Saudi Arabia and Venezuela -- did not yield any steps to reassure investors.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is likely to address the volatility in U.S. and overseas financial markets this year when she presents her semi-annual update on the economy to Congress this week. She is scheduled to appear before the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday.

Saying the economy is on firmer footing, the central bank started raising borrowing costs in December after a decade of near-zero interest rates. But the roller-coaster in stock prices in 2016, coupled with mounting fears of slowing global growth, has many economists and market analysts predicting that the Fed will hike rates even more gradually than it had previously said.