The Nasdaq composite fell 1.87 points to 3,192.00.
Trading volume was light, with 2.6 billion shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That compares with a two-month moving average of 3.4 billion.
Solid earnings reports have helped feed the rally in recent weeks. Of the 342 companies in the S&P index that reported results through last week, two out of every three have beat Wall Street's earnings estimates, according to research from Goldman Sachs.
Apple's stock gained following reports over the weekend that the tech giant is developing a wristwatch-like gadget, a smart watch. The device would reportedly run the same operating system used for iPhones and iPads. Apple rose $4.95 to $479.93.
In the market for U.S. government bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury hovered at 1.95 percent on Monday, unchanged from late Friday. The yield began the year trading at 1.70 and has moved steadily higher as worries about a recession have dissipated, drawing traders out of the Treasury market, the world's biggest hiding spot.
Loews Corp. said Monday morning that it lost $32 million in its fourth quarter, hurt by insurance losses from Superstorm Sandy and sliding prices for natural gas. The holding company, which has dealings in insurance, oil and gas, and hotels, is largely controlled by the Tisch family of New York. Its stock sank 34 cents to $43.51.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk dropped 14 percent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration refused to approve the company's proposed diabetes treatments until it received more data, which the drugmaker said it couldn't supply this year. Novo Nordisk's depositary receipts lost $26.89 to $165.40.
Carnival Corp., the cruise-ship operator, sank 29 cents to $38.72. An engine room fire over the weekend left its cruise ship Triumph stranded in the Gulf of Mexico.
