US stocks fell moderately Monday as energy stocks tumbled on a big drop in oil prices and retailers lost ground on worries that a strong start to the holiday season may be fleeting.

The market was coming off seven consecutive trading days of gains amid a year-end rally that vaulted the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes to four-year highs, fed by an improving economic landscape and mounting eagerness for strong sales in December.

While some of the nation's retailers reported a solid opening to the holiday shopping season, other merchants said shopper traffic tailed off once Friday's bargains passed. Retail stocks fell despite Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. posting better-than-expected numbers.

Sharply lower oil prices did little to energize the market either, although a recent slide in crude futures has helped temper fears about higher energy costs eating into consumer spending this year.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 40.90, or 0.37 percent, to 10,890.72.

Broader stock indicators retreated from their highest levels since mid-2001. The S&P 500 slid 10.79, or 0.85 percent, to 1,257.46, and the Nasdaq fell 23.64, or 1.04 percent, to 2,239.37.

Bonds advanced, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.41 percent from 4.43 percent late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading, and gold prices were little changed.

Traders pulled out of the retail sector as they tried to make sense of conflicting sales reports, though many are waiting for store owners to release November results later this week. Wal-Mart lost 49 cents to 50 dollars and J.C. Penney fell 1.22 dollars to 52.88 dollars, while Target Corp. also sank 51 cents to 54.72 dollars.

Declining issues led advancers by 11 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.5 billion shares. On Friday, when the markets closed early, volume was 542.7 million shares; on Wednesday, the last full day of trading, volume was 1.69 billion shares.

Source: Xinhua