NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks stumbled Monday as investors expressed renewed worries about inflation and interest rates, despite falling oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 72.44 to 10,942.11, Charts) fell 0.7 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 11.40 to 1,240.14, Charts) lost 0.9 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 19.53 to 2,110.42, Charts) was also down 0.9 percent.

All three indexes advanced at the open, but erased early gains after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Jack Guynn, one of the voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee that sets Fed rates, said core inflation has moved beyond the upper end of its comfort range. (Full story.)

Comments by Fed officials have been closely watched for clues about the central bank's interest rate plans.

Investors are also focused on key measures of home building strength due Tuesday and demand for big ticket items due Friday.

"We don't have much economic data today, so I think this is just more of the same," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago, referring to persistent concerns over inflation and interest rates. But then added, "I think we're looking at a correction, we're not looking at some long drawn out bear market."

Oil prices fell 90 cents to $68.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after major oil exporter Iran said there was a positive atmosphere in the dispute over its atomic work.

COMEX gold for August delivery slipped $9.30 to $572.40 an ounce, while copper, silver and platinum were also lower.

Alcoa (down $0.99 to $29.10, Charts) and Exxon Mobil (down $1.41 to $57.39, Charts) were the biggest losers among the Dow 30, hurt by a decline in commodity prices.

Vonage (down $1.12 to $8.48, Charts) shares tumbled nearly 12 percent after a unit of Verizon (down $0.37 to $32.17, Charts) served the Internet phone service provider with a patent infringement lawsuit involving voice-over-Internet phone technology.

CarMax (up $2.39 to $33.89, Charts) jumped close to 8 percent after the used car retailer posted a stronger-than-expected 54 percent increase in quarterly earnings.

Circuit City (down $0.85 to $28.63, Charts) posted a quarterly profit compared with a loss a year earlier, but shares ended lower in afternoon trade.

In broker action, UBS upgraded Intel (Charts) to "buy" from "neutral" on expectations of positive trends for gross and operating margin and Lehman Brothers upgraded Procter & Gamble (down $0.15 to $54.87, Charts) to "overweight" from "equal-weight."

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners topped advancers by three to one on volume of 1.5 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, losers also beat winners by a margin of more than two to one as 1.7 billion shares changed hands.

Treasury prices were lower again Monday, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.14 percent from the 5.12 percent level reached late Friday. The dollar was higher against the yen and the euro.

Major markets closed mostly lower Monday in Asia, while major European markets closed higher after Nokia (Charts) and Siemens (Charts) agreed to combine their telecom equipment units.

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