U.S. stocks fell Monday after Friday's big rally, dragged down by a sharp decline in energy as oil prices hit a near-seven-year low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 117.12 points, or 0.66 percent, to 17,730.51. The S&P 500 dropped 14.62 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,077.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 40.46 points, or 0.79 percent, to 5,101.81.
Oil prices closed near seven-year lows Monday after the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last Friday to keep crude production pumping at current level in the already oversupplied market.
The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery moved down 2. 32 U.S. dollars to settle at 37.65 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery decreased 2.27 dollars to close at 40.73 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. The declining crude prices weighed on the shares of major oil companies.
Chevron and Exxon lost 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart told CNBC in an interview on Monday that economic conditions are satisfactory and the financial markets are well prepared for the U.S. Federal Reserve to increase interest rates next week.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in November, beating market estimates of 200,000, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday.
Analysts said the solid job growth would most likely pave the way for Fed to raise interest rates later this month, the first time in nearly a decade. Fed Chair Janet Yellen gave an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy last week, signaling that she is ready to raise interest rates later this month, preventing a surprise in markets or the economy.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 6.95 percent to end at 15.84 on Monday. In other markets, the U.S. dollar increased against other major currencies on broad expectations that the Fed would raise interest rates next week.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0846 dollars from 1.0869 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 123.28 Japanese yen, higher than 123.18 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as the U.S. dollar showed strength. The most active gold contract for February delivery fell 8.9 dollars, or 0.82 percent, to settle at 1,075.20 dollars per ounce.
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