NEW YORK, March 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday as investors continued to monitor the latest developments of the political turmoil in the White House.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 335.60 points, or 1.35 percent, to 24,610.91. The S&P 500 decreased 39.09 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,712.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 137.74 points, or 1.84 percent, to 7,344.24.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Special Counsel Robert Mueller of hiring "hardened Democrats" to investigate alleged ties between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
Trump's words raised market concerns of another shakeup in the senior ranks of the administration following last week's turmoil.
The president announced to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last Tuesday, replacing him with Mike Pompeo, the current chief of Central Intelligence Agency.
On Wednesday, Trump nominated former TV analyst Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn, his top economic adviser that quit over tariff disagreements with Trump.
U.S. media said that the mood inside the White House has verged on mania and anxiety in recent days due to the president's increasing interest in sacking people around him.
In corporate news, shares of Facebook slumped nearly seven percent on Monday after reports showed that political analytics firm Cambridge Analytica was able to collect data on 50 million people's profiles without their consent, which was widely regarded as another indication of social media giant's systemic problems. Enditem
