A glut of poor corporate earnings and warnings of reduced profitability next year overshadowed a further improvement in money markets and pushed US stocks lower.

The S&P 500 closed down 3.1 per cent at 955.05 on what was nevertheless a relatively calm day following last week’s near-unprecedented volatility. The Nasdaq Composite Index was 4.1 per cent lower at 1,696.68, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.5 per cent at 9,033.66.