U.S. stocks suffered their worst loss in seven weeks on Monday as weak data from Japan and a disappointing outlook from retailer Lowe's Cos dampened hopes about the economy's growth.

The Dow and the S&P 500 suffered their worst one-day percentage declines since early July, while the Nasdaq saw its worst drop since late June.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shed 186.06 points, or 2.00 percent, to end unofficially at 9,135.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 24.36 points, or 2.43 percent, to finish unofficially at 979.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 54.68 points, or 2.75 percent, to close unofficially at 1,930.84.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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