Stocks slump the most in two months on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market had its worst day of the year so far, extending a January slump.

Stocks dropped Monday as falling oil prices pushed down energy stocks. The prospect of the Federal Reserve further cutting back on its economic stimulus also weighed on the market.

Stocks are falling back this year after exceptional gains pushed the market to record levels in 2013. Investors' confidence that the economy was recovering was jolted Friday by a weak employment report that showed far fewer jobs were added in December than economists had forecast.

Unlike last year, investors have so far been reluctant to buy stocks when the market has slumped. Instead they appear to be waiting for more news before committing, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 23.17 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,819.20, the biggest decline for the index since Nov. 7. After surging almost 30 percent last year, the S&P 500 index is down 1.6 percent in January.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 179.11 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,257.94. The Nasdaq composite dropped 61.36 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,113.30.

All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 fell.