Stocks retreated on Monday and the S&P briefly fell more than 1 percent as financials relinquished earlier gains fueled by reports Citigroup is in talks to give the U.S. government a larger stake.

Large-cap technology companies led the Nasdaq lower, including Apple , which fell more than 3 percent. The declines reversed a bounce fueled by gains in financials.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 48.19 points, or 0.65 percent, at 7,317.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 7.70 points, or 1.00 percent, at 762.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 23.63 points, or 1.64 percent, at 1,417.60.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by James Dalgleish)