Stocks fell Monday as investors sought to lock in gains from last week’s rally. A handful of disappointing earnings and higher oil prices also pressured the markets, the Associated Press reports.
Intensifying violence in the Middle East also made Wall Street cautious and sent crude oil futures higher on fears of supply disruptions. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $73.55, up 31 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 26.34, or 0.23 percent, to 11,193.36. The Dow surged 3.23 percent last week. Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 2.49, or 0.19 percent, to 1,276.06, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 6.95, or 0.33 percent, to 2,087.19.
