American stock indices the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended lower on Monday while the Dow failed to close above its milestone level of 16,000 as stocks were sold off late following cautious comments by the investor Carl Icahn on the equity market.

The Dow and the S&P 500 retreated from record levels with less than an hour to go in Monday's session. The Nasdaq, which had been down slightly for most of the day, fell 1.1% to a session low.(Food Display) Speaking at the Reuters Global Investment Outlook Summit, Icahn said he was"very cautious" on the stock market, saying he could see a "big drop" because earnings at many companies are fuelled more by low borrowing costs than the strength of management.(Supermarket Display)

He also hinted at his plan for Apple, the most valuable US stock by market value, saying he does not want to fight with the management of the iPhone maker.(Supermarket Display) He said he has no plans to walk away from his investment.

The Nasdaq was hammered by a sell-off in social media and cloud-related stocks, including Facebook, which finished down 6.5% at $45.83.(Clothing Display)