US: Stocks sag ahead of first-quarter earnings

[NEW YORK] US markets sagged Monday ahead of the takeoff of first-quarter earnings season, with traders hedging their bets after last week's solid gains.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 79.27 points (0.44 per cent) at 17,978.38.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 9.58 (0.46 per cent) to 2,092.47, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 7.73 (0.15 per cent) at 4,988.25.

General Electric, which primed Friday's market rise with a 10.8 per cent gain on its plan to hive off most of its banking business, reversed course to fall 3.1 per cent.

AFP