Stocks drop after turmoil in Cyprus sinks the euro

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slumping on Wall Street and Europe after shock over a proposed tax on bank savings in the tiny Mediterranean nation of Cyprus sent the euro sinking against other currencies.

The measures being proposed in Cyprus are stoking fears of bank runs in the other 16 nations that use the euro.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 74 points at 14,440 shortly after the opening bell Monday. That's a loss of half a percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 12 points, or 0.8 percent, at 1,548. The Nasdaq composite fell 26 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,222.

Benchmark indexes were down 1.3 percent in Germany and 1.4 percent in France.

The euro fell about 1 cent against the dollar to $1.29.