Wall Street's main indexes fell sharply on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite confirming it was in a bear market. The three major US stocks declined as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia sent crude prices soaring and fueled concerns about rising inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index lost 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 plunged three percent and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.6 percent.