S&P 500 hits lowest since March

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 fell below its April low of 1,294.70 on Monday to hit its weakest level since March 23 after fears of an economic slowdown had pushed Wall Street to five weeks of losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 51.96 points, or 0.43 percent, to 12,099.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 7.02 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,293.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 5.65 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,727.13.