Stocks drubbed at open
Wall Street tumbles as economic anxiety moves back into focus for investors.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled to start the first day of trading in December as investors retreated after last week's big rally amid concerns about the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost nearly 300 points, or more than 3%, in the early going. The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 3.9% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 3.6%.
Wall Street advanced Friday in a shortened session, helped by signs of strong consumer spending on Black Friday. But experts don't expect the post-Thanksgiving day sales momentum to hold up in the critical holiday period.
U.S. financial markets closed early Friday and were shut Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Economy: At 10 a.m. ET, investors will take in a report on nationwide manufacturing activity in November. A reading on construction spending in October is also due out.
The Institute for Supply Management's monthly survey of purchasing managers is expected to decline to a reading of 38 in November from 38.9 in October, according to a consensus forecast compiled by Briefing.com.
Separately, government data are expected to show construction spending in October declined 0.9% after a 0.3% fall in September.
Also on Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will talk about markets and the economy at the Fortune 500 forum in Washington.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is also set to speak Monday. He will be in Texas, talking about the Fed's policies in the financial crisis at the meeting of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
Retail: Shoppers seeking deep discounts turned out for "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season.
The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, said shoppers spent $41 billion in the four-day Thanksgiving weekend.
But the pace of sales isn't expected to hold up through the rest of the holiday season as consumers clamp down due to the economic downturn.
"I think that is taking little bit of steam out of things," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at Voyager Asset Management. "Most estimates are expecting what we saw on Friday is not going to carry through to the actual holiday."
Big Three: Detroit's automakers will also be in focus this week amid growing bets that the industry will receive a government bailout after all.
GM (GM, Fortune 500), Ford (F, Fortune 500) and Chrysler's pleas were rebuffed earlier this month, but the group will appeal to Congress a second time this week.
Companies: Media mogul Sumner Redstone is due to announce Monday that he has sold his controlling stake in video game company Midway Games (MWY) to a private investor, the Wall Street Journal reported.
And Johnson and Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) announced Monday plans to acquire the breast implant maker Mentor Corp. (MNT) for $1.1 billion, or $31 per share, a 92% premium to the company's Friday closing price.
World markets: Global stock indexes mostly fell. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index lost 1.4%. Major European markets were sharply lower in midday trading.
Oil and money: Crude prices fell after oil cartel OPEC ended a hastily convened meeting over the weekend without announcing new production cuts.
U.S. crude for January delivery tumbled $3.46 to $50.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In currency trading, the dollar fell against the yen and was higher versus the euro. 
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