Stocks are closing mostly lower after another steep drop in oil and natural gas prices pulled energy companies down. Prices for crude oil and natural gas each slumped about 6% Monday, the latest blow to the beleaguered energy sector. Oil and gas companies took heavy losses. Devon Energy sank 7% and Murphy Oil lost 6%. Not all the news was bad: Aetna jumped 2% after reporting solid earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 17 points, or 0.1%, to 16,449. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost less than a point to 1,939. The Nasdaq composite edged up six points, or 0.1%, to 4,620. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.96%. (More stocks stories.)