U.S. stocks ticked down on Monday as a renewed decline in oil prices weighed on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.90 points, or 0.14 percent, to 17,528.27. The S&P 500 decreased 4.49 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,056.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index inched down 7.51 points, or 0.15 percent, to 5,040.98.
Oil prices tumbled again on Monday after last weeks' strong rebound, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude diving over 3 percent, as excess supply dampened market sentiment.
The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery moved down 1.29 U.S. dollars to settle at 36.81 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 1.27 dollars to close at 36.62 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Dragged by the plunging oil prices, energy sector, the biggest laggard among the S&P 500's 10 sectors, decreased 1.79 percent on Monday, pulling the broader index into red territory.
As it will take years to wash out the whole supply in oil market and reach the balance point where supply meets demand, many analysts do not expect a quick recovery in oil prices.
There are no major economic reports or corporate earnings due out Monday.
The U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Christmas Day and ended narrowly mixed amid light trading volumes on Thursday, a shortened trading day for Christmas eve.
Last week, all three major indices posted solid gains, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq jumping 2.5 percent, 2.8 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
Overseas, Chinese shares plunged on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbling 2.59 percent, as China's B-share market lost nearly 8 percent.
In Europe, British stocks were closed for a U.K. public holiday on Monday, while Germany's benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange lost 0.69 percent amid falling oil prices.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 7.43 percent to end at 16.91 Monday.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar dropped against most major currencies Monday amid thin trading in holiday season.
In late New York trading, the euro moved up to 1.0976 dollars from 1.0966 dollars in the previous session. The dollar bought 120.35 Japanese yen, higher than 120.32 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell, with the most active gold contract for February delivery fell 7.6 dollars, or 0.71 percent, to settle at 1,068.30 dollars per ounce.
