Investing.com - U.S. stocks fell on Monday after investors locked in gains from last week's bullish jobs report and sold for profits, jumping to the sidelines ahead of second-quarter earnings that will begin hitting the wire this week.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 fell 0.26%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.39%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.77%.
The Volatility S&P 500 index, which measures the outlook for market volatility, was up 10.27% at 11.38.
Stocks rose last week after the Department of Labor reported that non-farm payrolls rose by 288,000 in June, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 212,000.
However, by Monday trading after a holiday weekend in the U.S., profit takers ended gains, as markets prepped for earnings season to begin.
U.S. metals giant Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) was due to release its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, investors also waited on the sidelines for the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting on Wednesday, which may hold clues concerning the direction of monetary policy.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) said it expected the Fed to raise interest rates in the third quarter of 2015 as opposed to the first quarter of 2016 made in an earlier prediction, though uncertainty ahead of the release of the Fed minutes kept investors at bay.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), up 1.00%, AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), up 0.52%, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), up 0.47%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), down 1.37%, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), down 1.16%, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), down 1.00%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day lower.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.14%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.41%, while Germany's DAX fell 1.03%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.62%.