Cyprus bailout rattles markets

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NEW YORK, March 18 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks closed lower Monday on news that a bailout for Cyprus included a tax on bank deposits.

"This morning the news is all about Cyprus, the home to 'dirty money' with an estimated $18 billion of Russian and other mafia money on deposit," Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Jeffrey James & Associates, said in a note to clients, MarketWatch reported.

The New York Times reported the plan is still up in the air. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has delayed a parliamentary vote on the bailout for a second time, because he is having difficulty finding support for the proposal.

By close of trading Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 21.73 points, or 0.15 percent, to 14,492.38.

The Nasdaq dipped 4.96 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,244.11.

The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 4.85 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,555.85.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,280 stock advanced and 1,770 declined on a volume of 2.2 billion shares traded.

Ten-year U.S. treasury bonds rose 10/32 to yield 2.023 percent.

Against the dollar, the euro was at $1.2954 from Friday's $1.2907. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at 95.43 yen from 94.36 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 340.32 points, 2.71 percent, to 12,220.63.

In London, the FTSE 100 index shed 0.49 percent, 31.73 points, to 6,457.92.