NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks slipped early Monday, stymied by a rise in oil prices and some weakness in blue chips.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 7.09 to 10,592.21, Charts) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (down 0.82 to 1,190.35, Charts) index both lost around 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq composite (up 0.13 to 2,148.09, Charts) was modestly lower in the first 10 minutes of the session.

The major indexes had managed to close just above unchanged Friday after a tough session dominated by a weaker-than-expected monthly payrolls report.

Nonetheless, last week was a positive one overall, continuing Wall Street's recent bull run. That same underlying optimism helped protect the market from bigger losses early Monday.

Hurting sentiment was another rise in oil prices. U.S. light crude for January delivery rose 70 cents to $43.24 in electronic trading. Oil prices rose following an attack in Saudi Arabia early Monday against the U.S. consulate in Jeddah.

Among early movers, Dow component Pfizer (unchanged at $27.89, Research) fell more than 2.5 percent after Merrill Lynch downgraded it to "neutral," saying its growth potential is limited.

In currency trading, the dollar continued to hover near record lows against the euro, and managed to bounce a bit above the yen.

Treasury prices were barely changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.25 percent.

In global trading, Asian markets closed mostly lower, and European markets were weaker at midday.