By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks declined on Monday, dragged lower by a big drop in energy shares and global growth concerns following soft data out of China and Japan.
Energy <.SPNY> was easily the worst-performing S&P sector, down 3.6 percent, as Brent crude
"I think people are looking at the potential ripple effects from the slide in oil. You're seeing some of these ripple effects today," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, noting there also seems to be profit-taking as year's end draws near.
Adding to the bearish tone, data showed China's exports grew at a slower-than-expected pace and imports dropped 6.7 percent in November, while Japan's economy shrank more than expected in the third quarter.
Concerns over the global economy were offset by signs of strength in the U.S. economy, including Friday's payrolls report. The S&P 500 closed Friday's session with its 49th record of the year, and is up more than 11 percent from an October low.
In response to falling oil prices, ConocoPhillips
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 87.91 points, or 0.49 percent, to 17,870.88, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 12.65 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,062.72 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 36.97 points, or 0.77 percent, to 4,743.79.
McDonald's
(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Meredith Mazzilli)
