NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks fell moderately on Monday as investors took a break after four weeks of gains that brought the market to record highs.
Energy companies fell more than the rest of the market as the price of oil took another turn lower. Yahoo fell after Verizon Communications announced it would buy most of Yahoo's internet businesses for $4.83 billion.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 77.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,493.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 6.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,168.48 and the Nasdaq composite lost 2.53 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,097.63.
It's common for a market that has run up quickly to retreat. With the slow summer trading season and lack of economic news, traders say there are few reasons to be buying the market right now.
"This is a broad, but benign, sell-off," said Ryan Larson, head of U.S. equity trading for RBC Global Asset Management.
Larson pointed out the recent price-to-earnings ratio on the S&P 500, or the amount money that investors are paying for each dollar of earnings, which was trading at nearly 20. That's far above the 14-16 times investors are typically comfortable with.