Energy stocks pull down the market

NEW YORK - A retreat in oil and energy stocks pulled the major U.S. markets mostly lower Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.94 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 17,111.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 6.17 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,001.54. The Nasdaq composite added 9.39 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,592.29.

Shares of Yahoo, which owns a stake in Alibaba, jumped in anticipation of the giant Chinese technology company going public. Yahoo rose $2.22, or 5.5 percent, to close at $41.81.

Energy stocks were by far the biggest drag on the market. The energy component of the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent, compared with the modest 0.3 percent decline in the main index.

Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, dropped $1.49, or 1.5 percent, to $97.77 - the biggest loser among the Dow's 30 members.

The decline in energy stocks was linked to a recent sell-off in the price of oil. Benchmark U.S. crude for October delivery fell 63 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $92.66 a barrel, the lowest price since January.

Oil prices have fallen for three days straight as geopolitical worries in Ukraine and particularly in Iraq have eased. Also affecting crude oil was a report out of China that showed manufacturing in the world's second-largest economy slowing down.

"The market is trading lower on this subdued, weaker global outlook," said Jack Ablin, chief investment strategist at BMO Private Bank.

The three biggest decliners in the S&P 500 were oil drilling and exploration companies, which rely on high oil prices to justify pulling crude oil out of remote parts of the planet. Newfield Exploration, Nabors Industries, and EOG Resources all fell 3 percent or more.

Some strategists say the decline in oil prices is likely to be temporary.

"I suspect oil cannot fall further than $90 a barrel," said Paul Christopher, a chief international investment strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors, who focuses on the oil market. "Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members will start cutting production if oil continues to fall like this."

Another international concern for investors is in Europe, where a drive for Scottish independence seems to be gaining momentum. Once considered a far-flung idea, a recent poll by YouGov showed rising support for a break from the United Kingdom.

Scotland's economy is not large enough to derail the region's economy, but a breakup of the U.K. could be messy for investors, strategists say.

Bond prices fell Monday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.47 percent. Gold fell $13, to $1,254.30 an ounce. Silver fell 20 cents, to $18.96 an ounce.