After The Bell: Stocks Lower Ahead Of Key Earnings, Fed Meeting

(CBS) -- Stocks closed lower Monday, with declining crude oil prices dragging down shares in the energy sector, as traders await a slew of quarterly earnings and results from this week's key Federal Reserve meeting.

The S&P 500 lost 6, the NASDAQ dropped 2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down nearly 78 points, settling to 18,493.

"The overall, broad market had a very shallow decline. The semiconductor index was actually up about a half a percent, after the close," said Jim Welsh, San Diego-based macro strategist and author of "Macro Tides."