Stocks ended lower in light, choppy trading Monday, amid ongoing worries over the slowing economy and ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later this week.

“It’s a headline-driven market and we need a headline,” said Brian Battle, vice president of trading a Performance Trust Capital Partners, of the quiet trading day. “We’ll be watching Bernanke later on this week and more earnings.”

Shortly after the closing bell, Yahoo named former Google executive Marissa Mayer as its new president and CEO . Mayer will start her new role at Yahoo on Tuesday. Most analysts had expected Yahoo to hire interim CEO Ross Levinsohn for the permanent position.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.88 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 12,727.21, finishing lower for the seventh Monday in a row. JPMorgan and Home Depot led the blue-chip laggards.

The S&P 500 erased 3.14 points, or 0.23 percent, to finish at 1,353.64. The Nasdaq slipped 11.53 points, or 0.40 percent, to end at 2,896.94.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended slightly above 17.