U.S. stocks finished slightly lower Monday on the lightest volume trading day of the year so far, as energy and retail shares underperformed and investors reassessed a rally that has lifted benchmark indexes by 6 percent this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average never rose above its Friday close and ended down 21.73 points to finish at 13,971.24.On the Dow, shares of Home Depot and UnitedHealth Group led decliners, falling about 1 percent. Shares of blue chips Microsoft and Pfizer gained about 1 percent."Largely absent any news, I'd say markets are working off an overbought phase and taking a pause," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.Goldman Sachs has grown cautious on global equities in the near term, cutting its recommendation to neutral.Shares of Google declined $2.95 to $782.42 after the Internet search firm said late Friday that Chairman Eric Schmidt planned to sell nearly half of his stake.Carnival, the cruise ship operator, sank 29 cents to $38.72 after an engine room fire over the weekend left its ship Triumph stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. -- MarketWatchHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
