U.S. stocks mostly declined on Monday, with energy producers leading losses on oil's drop to a multi-month low, as investors retreated after a fifth week of gains lifted the S&P 500 to a record, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average not far behind.
"Everyone is trying to reconcile a month's worth of ridiculously good economic data and Friday's jobs report. How can the two be? It's confounding. It may take until Friday to get investors' confidence back up," said John Lynch, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.
The data from the Labor Department showed the creation of 142,000 jobs last month, so far from the 225,000 estimated that many economists dismissed it out of hand.
Read MoreReactions from three top economists
"I think Friday's retail sales will confirm strength in the auto sector rather than weakness in jobs," said Lynch, who believes Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for August will prove to be an anomaly.
"The rest of the world is still an issue," added Lynch.
Ford Motor slid after Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of the car manufacturer. Yahoo, which owns more than 22 percent of Alibaba Group Holding, rose after the e-commerce company said in a regulatory filing that it intends to raise up to $21.1 billion in an initial public offering.
Major U.S. Indexes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 25.94 points, or about 0.2 percent, to 17,111.42, with Exxon Mobil pacing blue-chip declines that extended to 22 of 30 components.
The energy sector fell the most among the 10 major industry groups on the , which declined 6.17 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,001.54, leaving it just over 6 points from its record closing high, set Friday.
"The markets seem to be running on a treadmill, going far without going anywhere. While notching new all-time highs (just barely) the markets have gained very little over the past two weeks," offered Paul Nolte, senior vice president, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management.
After wavering between gains and losses, the Nasdaq rose 9.39 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,592.29.
For every two shares rising, more than three fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where almost 602 million shares traded. Composite volume neared 2.8 billion.
"The week of Sept. 11 is a nervous one in America, the more so today because of the barbaric activities of ISIS in Syria and Iraq and the fear that this violence could once again be visited on the United States. However, while the geopolitical situation continues to raise concerns, economic trends remain quite supportive of the equity market," David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds, wrote in an emailed note.
The CBOE Volatility Index, one measure of investor uncertainty, rose 5.1 percent to 12.70.
"Worries about growth globally and of course geopolitical tensions, with the president's speech on Wednesday, that has investors on edge," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management, referring to President Barack Obama's address to the nation, which is scheduled for a day after meetings with congressional leaders on Tuesday to lay out his plan to combat Sunni extremists of Islamic State.
"We'll see how aggressive his speech is, given all that is going on in the world today; I have not talked to any clients positioning for Wednesday," said Lynch at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil futures for October delivery dropped 63 cents to $92.66 a barrel; gold futures for December delivery dropped $13.00 to $1,254.30 an ounce.
The dollar advanced against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners; the yield on the 10-year Treasury note used to figure mortgage rates and other consumer loans turned higher, up a basis point at 2.473 percent.
The Federal Reserve on Monday reported U.S. consumers in July, led by rising car loans and higher credit card balances.
On Friday, stocks erased losses to end in positive terrain, with benchmark indexes extending gains into a fifth week, as investors detoured around the surprisingly disappointing jobs report.
—By CNBC's Kate Gibson
Coming Up This Week:
Tuesday
Apple's unveils new i-stuff
Earnings: Barnes and Noble, Krispy Kreme, Burlington Stores, Palo Alto Networks
7:30 a.m.: NFIB small business optimism
10:00 a.m.: Fed Vice Chair Daniel Tarullo testifies on Dodd Frank
10:00 a.m.: JOLTs job openings and turnover data
1:00 p.m.: 3-year note auction
Wednesday
Earnings: Lands' End, Vera Bradley, Manchester United, Restoration Hardware, Five Below, Men's Wearhouse
7:00 a.m.: Mortgage applications
10:00 a.m.: Wholesale trade
10:30 a.m.: Oil inventories
1:00 p.m.: 10-year note auction
Thursday
Earnings: Kroger, Lululemon Athletica, Ulta Salon
8:30 a.m.: Unemployment claims
10:30 a.m.: Natural gas inventories
1:00 p.m.: 30-year bond auction
2:00 p.m.: Treasury budget
Friday
Earnings: Darden Restaurants
8:30 a.m.: Retail sales
8:30 a.m.: Import/export prices
9:55 a.m.: Consumer sentiment
10:00 a.m.: Business inventories
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