US stocks suffered a sharp sell-off on Monday as concerns about the credit crisis, higher oil prices and the health of the economy continued to play on the minds of investors.

The financial sector remained in sharp focus. Lehman Brothers shares were 6.7 per cent lower at $13.45 after South Korea’s top financial regulator warned that Korea Development Bank should take a “cautious” approach to buying an overseas bank, following the state-run group’s expression of interest in Lehman.