Stocks waver to start August after best month since 2020

Pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, July 8, 2022, in New York. Stocks wavered between gains and losses in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, Aug. 1, 2022 as investors face another busy week of corporate earnings reports and economic updates. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE- A sign for New York Stock Exchange is displayed on the floor at the NYSE in New York, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Stocks were modestly higher early Friday, July 29, 2022, on Wall Street, despite news that closely watched inflation data jumped by the most in four decades last month. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

People wearing protective masks walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Stocks on Wall Street gave up early gains and are falling in afternoon trading Monday as investors face another busy week of corporate earnings reports and economic updates.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 2:31 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 70 points, or 0.2%, to 32,772 and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%.

Banks, health care companies and tech stocks were among the biggest weights on the benchmark S&P 500 index. JPMorgan Chase fell 1.6%, UnitedHealth Group dropped 1.9% and Intuit slid 1.8%.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 4.8%, dragging energy stocks lower. Exxon Mobil lost 2.7%.

Retailers and consumer products makers made solid gains and offset losses elsewhere in the market. Target rose 1.4% and Procter & Gamble rose 2.9%.

Boeing jumped 6.6% after it cleared a key hurdle with federal regulators and could soon resume deliveries of its large 787 airliner.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, fell to 2.62% from 2.65% late Friday.

August's subdued opening follows a solid rally for stocks in July that marked the best month for the S&P 500 index since November 2020. Stocks have been falling for much of the year as investors worry about high inflation and rising interest rates. A key concern remains whether central banks will raise interest rates too aggressively and push economies into a recession.

The Federal Reserve raised its key short-term interest rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday, lifting it to the highest level since 2018. The goal is to slow the U.S. economy to help temper the impact from inflation. An inflation gauge that is closely tracked by the Fed jumped 6.8% in June from a year ago, the biggest increase in four decades.

A surge in oil prices throughout the year only worsened the impact from inflation. U.S. crude oil prices are up roughly 25% in 2022 and that has raised gasoline prices in the U.S. to record levels.

A report last week showed that the U.S. economy contracted last quarter and could be in a recession. Stocks' recent rally came as worrisome economic reports gave some investors confidence that the Fed can dial back its aggressive pace of rate hikes sooner than expected.

Several big companies are reporting earnings this week, which will give investors insight into how inflation is impacting businesses and consumers. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar and coffee chain Starbucks report earnings on Tuesday. Pharmacy chain CVS reports earnings on Wednesday.

More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their latest earnings results, which have been mostly better than expected. Many companies have also warned that inflation is hurting consumer spending and squeezing operations. Businesses have been increasing prices in an effort to keep up profits.

Wall Street will also get several updates on the job market, which has remained strong. The Labor Department will release its June survey on job openings and labor turnover on Tuesday and its closely-watched monthly employment report for July on Friday.