Weakness in technology stocks pushed the overall market lower on Monday, snapping a four session winning streak.
The Dow Jones industrial average, up 170 points in early trading, closed with a loss of 7.01 points to 7216.97. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 27.48 points to 1404.02 and the S&P 500 stock index was down 2.66 points to 753.89.
Among local stocks: Arena Pharmaceuticals fell $1.10 to $3.99; Illumina dropped $1.17 to $34.55; and, Sempra Energy closed up 82 cents to $41.39.
Investors are bracing for a series of key economic reports due out this week on employment, infation and housing. In addition, the Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday. It is expected they will leave short-term interest rates at historic low levels but could make some important comments about the economy.
Oil prices started the session lower after OPEC decided over the weekend to hold production at current levels. There had been expectations the cartel would cut production to deal with weaking global demand. However, at the close crude was up $1.10 to $47.35 a barrel.
