What did the Dow do today? Stock market ends down on worries of economic slowdown in China

Stocks ended lower on Monday after two major U.S. companies sparked concerns that a Chinese slowdown was hurting their results.

The decline comes as investors brace for a busy week of earnings and key economic indicators.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 209 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 24,528. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 21 points, or 0.78 percent to finish at 2,644.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 79 points, or 1.11 percent, to end at 7,086.

"Caterpillar put a damper on the parade today," said Jeremy Bryan, portfolio manager at Gradient Investments in Arden Hills, Minnesota.

The industrial equipment giant's fourth-quarter profit fell widely short of Wall Street expectations. Caterpillar finished down just over 9 percent at $124.37. A bellwether for industrial companies, Caterpillar has also been warning investors that higher costs related to Chinese tariffs would hurt its bottom line.

Chipmaker Nvidia also blamed China for its slowing sales and reduced revenue forecast. The stock closed nearly 14 percent lower at $138.01.

Food recalls:Fruit recalled from Walmart, Aldi, Costco over listeria concern in several states

Tax Tips:Tax season opens: You can file your federal taxes starting today

Overseas concerns

China is facing its worst economic slowdown since the global financial crisis and the impact is being felt widely among the many U.S. companies that rely on China for sales, especially industrial and technology companies. The slowdown is being exacerbated by continuing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

In the July-September period, China's economy expanded at 6.5 percent, the slowest pace since the financial crisis.

Government shutdown impact:Economy lost $11 billion, most of which will be recouped

Recession unlikely:Why the stock market is headed for a swift recovery

World economy forecast:Trade war with China, rising US interest rates hamper growth

"That leads to the next question: Will the Chinese slowdown work its way to hurt the U.S. economy?" says Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial. "We’re not seeing that yet." 

A busy week

The latest corporate warnings over China's economy and a new report from Washington could help feed recession fears. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the U.S. economy will only grow by 2.3 percent this year, marking a significant slowdown from 3.1 percent last year.

Market watchers will get plenty of chance to gauge the U.S. economy this week, considered the biggest for earnings. Among industrial companies, Boeing and 3M report, while Apple and Microsoft provide a measure among tech companies.

Consumer confidence is due out on Tuesday, which likely will reveal how much the government shutdown affected Americans. The Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday. No rate hike is expected, but investors will carefully parse Chairman Jerome Powell's comments at the press conference. On Thursday, fourth-quarter GDP estimates come out followed by January's jobs report on Friday.

"It's not going to be a slow week," Detrick says. "We'll get more clues about how the overall economy is withstanding."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.