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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks finished slightly lower Monday, drifting into the red during the final hour of trading as volumes remained lackluster and cautious investors continued to focus on global developments.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 23 points, or 0.2%, with Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) leading the decline. The blue chip index spent most of the session in positive territory, with AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) delivering the best performances. Both telecom giants were upgraded to "outperform" by Robert W. Baird.
The S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 4 points, or 0.3%, as shares of Marriott International (MAR, Fortune 500) slumped 6%. The hotelier warned that its revenue per available room for the first quarter of the year will come in at the low end of its initial guidance due to weakness in North America.
The Nasdaq (COMP) lost 12 points, or 0.5%, with a 4.3% drop in shares of eBay dragging on the tech-heavy index, following a $2.4 billion deal to acquire GSI Commerce.
Meanwhile, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Netflix (NFLX) and First Solar (FSLR) were among the best performers on both indexes. Energy stocks, including Schlumberger (SLB), Baker Hughes (BHI, Fortune 500) and Halliburton (HAL, Fortune 500), were also big gainers among the S&P 500.
All three indexes managed to head higher last week, thanks to a three-day winning streak, as investors turned their attention to strong corporate earnings and shrugged off geopolitical concerns. The Dow gained more than 3%, the S&P 500 rallied 2.7% and the Nasdaq surged 3.8%.
Stocks have been on a roller coaster ride the last several weeks amid ongoing concerns about Japan's nuclear crisis, along with continuing unrest in the Middle East and the civil war in Libya.
"Investors are still on the nervous side, so you're not seeing a whole lot of enthusiasm," said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co. Volume has been light throughout the last several days.
Still, Goldman said stocks remain attractive and poised to move higher.
For the month, the market is flat, but stocks are on track to end the first quarter with gains. Since the start of 2011, the Dow and S&P 500 are up about 5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up almost 3%.
Goldman added that improvement in the U.S. economy has helped boost stocks. The latest data has pointed to a steady recovery, which has lifted investor confidence.
At the end of the week, the government will release its key snapshot of the nation's job market. Friday's monthly hiring and unemployment report from the Labor Department is expected to show that the economy added 185,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 8.9%, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Economy: The Commerce Department reported that spending by individuals increased 0.7% in February, topping a forecasted 0.5% rise. Personal income rose 0.3% in the month, matching expectations.
The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 2.1% in January. Economists were expecting sales to edge up 0.3%, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
World markets: European stocks ended mixed. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.1%, the DAX in Germany slipped 0.1% and France's CAC 40 increased 0.1%.
Asian markets also ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite added 0.2%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei slid 0.6%.
Companies: Shares of Eastman Kodak (EK, Fortune 500) jumped 5.3% after a federal agency said Friday that it would review the company's patent-infringement claim against Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM).
Shares of RadioShack (RSH, Fortune 500) jumped 5% late afternoon following news that the iPad 2 would arrive at 500 stores of the electronic retailer Tuesday.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell slightly against the euro but moved higher versus the Japanese yen and the British pound.
Oil for May delivery slipped $1.42 to settle at $103.98 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $6.60 to settle at $1,419.90 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.45% from 3.44% late Friday. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
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