US market close: Stocks plummet nearly 1% amid Brexit fears

US stocks closed down on Monday 13 June for the third straight session, as investors remain cautious ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting and the upcoming Brexit vote to leave the European Union on 23 June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 finished at their lowest close since 24 May 2016.

The Dow Jones plummeted 132.86 points, or 0.7%, to close at 17,732.48. According to CNBC, Visa led declines followed by Apple, 3M and Microsoft. Shares of Microsoft dropped 2.6% following news that the tech giant will purchase LinkedIn of $196 a share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2B. A release noted that LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner, will remain in his position but will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Meanwhile, LinkedIn shares rose 46.6%.

The S&P 500 dropped 17.01 points, or 0.8% to settle at 2,079.06. More than a 1.2% decline in materials led losses, along with declines of over 1% in information technology and industrials. While the Nasdaq Composite fell 46.11 points, or 0.9%, settling at 4,848.44 for its lowest close since 23 May.

"It started in China and the domino continued with Europe because of Brexit and then spilled over to the US," Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Financial, told MarketWatch. "There is nothing to give the market the mojo it needs, and investors will have to get used to it for a while."

Stock investors have been on high alerts as they await the conclusion of the Fed policy meeting and the upcoming 23 June referendum regarding the UK's continued membership in the EU. "Markets are definitely more volatile than they have been in the recent past. The VIX is up at 19 and trading volumes are higher than usual," said Mark Kepner, managing director of sales and trading at Themis Trading.

The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX)—known as the fear index—hit above 21 for the first time since 25 February 2016.

The US dollar index traded about 0.25% lower, with the euro by $1.13 and the yen around 106.2 yen against the greenback. The pound sterling was lower against the dollar, at about $1.424. Treasury yields traded lower in the afternoon, with the 2-year yield by 0.72% and the 10-year yield near 1.61%. Golf futures for August delivery rose $11.00 (£7.74;€9.74) at $1,286.90 (£905.35;€1,140.03) an ounce.

US crude oil futures settled down $0.19 (£0.13;€0.17), or 0.39%, at $48.88 (£34.39;€43.30) a barrel.

Overseas, European markets closed over 1.5% lower, while Asian markets dropped 2.5% or more. According to CNBC, the Hang Seng dropped 2.5%, the Shanghai Composite down 3.2% and the Nikkei 225 fell 3.5%.