Markets closed mostly lower on Monday as worries about a deluge of earnings made investors feel shaky. Also, growing geopolitical tensions and concerns of slowing global growth coupled with a decline in shares of major banks dented investors’ confidence. This saw both the S&P 500 and Dow closing in the red. However, the Nasdaq snapped its three-day losing streak, led by a rally in tech stocks.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 0.5% to close at 25,317.41. The S&P 500 declined 0.4% to close at 2,755.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 7,468.63, declining 0.3%. A total of 6.9 billion shares were traded on Monday, higher than the last 20-session average of 7.8 billion shares. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.50-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.34-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.How did the Benchmark Perform?The Dow shed 126.93 points, as investors grew cautious ahead of a slew of earnings reports this week. Also, bank stocks declined broadly, led by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS. Shares of Goldman Sachs lost 2.4%.The S&P 500 gave up 11.90 points, as energy and financials weighed heavy on markets. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) declined 2.1%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) lost 1.1%. Shares of Bank of America Corporation BAC declined 3.3%. Also, the S&P 500 marked its fourth straight day of losses.However, tech stocks somewhat limited losses on the S&P 500 and also boosted the Nasdaq. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 19.60 points, led by a rally in tech stocks. Shares of Apple, Inc. AAPL and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN gained 0.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Apple has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Bank Stocks Decline, Upcoming Earnings Make Investors ShakyOn Monday, shares of major banks nosedived. Shares of both Bank of America and Citigroup Inc. C declined more than 3%, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM lost 1.4%. Shares of banks fell primarily because of growing worries of higher mortgage rates, which could cap loan growth.Markets have been suffering for the last couple of weeks on concerns of rapidly rising interest rates, and concerns about the state of the global economy. That has been dampening investor sentiment, thus taking a toll on stocks.Moreover, on Monday, caution grew ahead of a deluge of earnings reports this week, which include Dow members Caterpillar, Inc. CAT, United Technologies Corporation UTX and 3M Company MMM, along with tech giants Amazon and Alphabet, Inc. GOOGL.Geopolitical Tensions Weigh on MarketsRising geopolitical tensions have been rattling markets for a while. Last weekend, a Saudi official came up with a new account of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which differs from the official statement provided by Saudi Arabia earlier. Khashoggi’s death has led to widespread criticism against Saudia Arabia, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announcing that he has decided to pull out of an investment conference in Riyadh. Foreign investors have reportedly dumped more than $1 billion worth of Saudi stocks last week.However, earlier on Monday, U.S. stocks rallied following a surge in China stocks. Last week, China said that its economy slowed in the July-September quarter, growing 6.5%, down from 6.7% registered in the previous quarter. Investors have been worrying that if China experiences further problems, the pain could spread to other emerging economies and eventually to the United States.Stocks That Made HeadlinesValero and Valero Energy Partners Ink $950M Merger DealValero Energy Corporation VLO announced that it is merging with Valero Energy Partners LP (VLP) and Forest Merger Sub LLC, a subsidiary that was incorporated in Delaware as a merge vehicle by the company. (Read More)Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest StrategiesIt's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.See Them Free>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report Bank of America Corporation (BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report Citigroup Inc. (C): Free Stock Analysis Report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report United Technologies Corporation (UTX): Free Stock Analysis Report The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS): Free Stock Analysis Report Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report Valero Energy Corporation (VLO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research