Stocks Opened Lower ahead of Corporate Earnings

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday, pulling back from records ahead of a raft of corporate earnings this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately declined 15.77 points, or 0.06%, to 26,600.94. The S&P 500 fell 3.12 points, or 0.11%, to 2,869.75. The Nasdaq Composite was down 11.16 points, or 0.15%, to 7,494.62.

Crude prices edged down Monday as the market weighed an increase in the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. Brent crude was down 0.51% at $70.16 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.03% at $66.12 a barrel.

U.S. consumer spending rose solidly in December as demand for goods and services increased, but the gain came at the expense of savings, which dropped to a 10-year low in a troubling sign for future consumption and economic growth. The Commerce Department said on Monday that consumer spending increased 0.4 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.8 percent increase in November.