Investing.com - The S&P 500 seesawed to a negative close on Monday, as a slump in technology led by Apple weighed on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.35%. The S&P 500 fell 0.59%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.88%.
The broader averages struggled for direction as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 2%. Goldman Sachs warned that slowing consumer demand in China could weigh on Apple's earnings. But the bank stopped short of lowering its estimates on iPhone shipments, reiterating its December-quarter forecast for shipments to reach 80 million.
"Though most of the smartphone weakness was in the mid and lower range, we find it hard to believe that this general environment is going to be helpful to Apple unless things improve late in the year," Goldman said.
Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) closed down.
Falling energy stocks also limited upside momentum despite a rise in oil prices in the wake of rising tensions between the West and Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist.
In a sign of risk-aversion, defensive corners of the market were in favor as consumer staples rose 1%, with Walgreen's Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) and Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) closing 2% higher.
Financials closed lower as Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) came under pressure despite posting earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates.
Bank of America reported earnings of $0.66 per share on revenue of $22.78 billion, beating Wall Street estimates for earnings of $0.62 a share on revenue of $22.62 billion.
There was little reason to cheer on the economic front after retail sales rose just 0.1% in September, missing economists' estimates for a 0.7% gain.
In other economic news, the U.S. deficit jumped to $779 billion, a six-year year high, according to a statement from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.
A 6% rise in defense spending, which accounted for about 4.1% of the total budget, drew a muted reaction in military names as General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) rose 0.4%, while Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) closed up about 1%.
Wall Street's timid start to the week comes on the back of its worst week since March as investors worried that rising bond yields would increase borrowing costs, stifling global growth. Concerns over a prolonged U.S. and China trade war also soured sentiment on equities.
"Our base case calls for prolonged trade tensions between the two countries that will weigh on investor sentiment," BlackRock said. "The resilience of U.S. equity markets and economic activity may only further encourage the U.S. to increase pressure on China."
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
L3 Technologies (NYSE:LLL), Harris (NYSE:HRS) and Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.