Wall Street fell on Monday as energy and raw material stocks took a hit, with oil prices falling to their lowest in nearly seven years.
Oil majors Exxon (XOM.
N) and Chevron (CVX.
N) fell about 3 percent and were the biggest drags on the S&P and among the stocks weighing on the Dow.
The impact of the fall in oil prices offset some of Friday's gains that were triggered by a strong jobs report.
The solid November employment report showed that the economy was strong enough to absorb an interest rate hike, which is widely expected to be raised when the Federal Reserve meets on Dec. 15-16.
"The Fed is pretty locked in regarding a hike next week and any fall in commodity prices will be seen as transitory factors," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.
However, Hogan said a further plunge in oil prices and a stronger dollar could mean subsequent rate hikes will be gradual.