By Anna Hirtenstein and Akane Otani

U.S. stocks slipped Monday, backing away from the records they notched at the end of last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 165 points, or 0.5%, to 34035. The S&P 500 lost 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2%.

Investors started the week on a somewhat cautious note. A string of blue-chip companies are scheduled to report earnings this week and will offer a view on businesses' expectations for the pace of economic revival. Money managers are looking to gauge whether stocks' high valuations are justified after the Dow and S&P 500 hit closing records last week.

"After a big move, you get a pause of breath and a bit of a reassessment, " said Caroline Simmons, U.K. chief investment officer at UBS Asset Management. "People are reassessing, waiting for newsflow that might indicate that growth and inflation remain on track."

Technology and consumer-discretionary stocks led declines Monday, weighing down major indexes.

Peloton fell 9.2% after a federal safety agency said over the weekend that people with young children or pets shouldn't use the connected-fitness company's treadmills.

Tesla declined 3.7% after two men died in a Tesla vehicle that crashed into a tree Saturday.

Meanwhile, GameStop rose 6.7% after it said its CEO would step down.

On the earnings front, International Business Machines is expected to report after the close. Other companies including Procter & Gamble, Netflix and Lockheed Martin are scheduled to post results later in the week.

"I expect the earnings picture is going to remain very buoyant across the picture and for the momentum to stay very positive," said Fahad Kamal, chief investment officer of Kleinwort Hambros. "As long as earnings meet what are very heightened expectations, the rally can keep going."

In currency markets, the Russian ruble weakened 0.9% against the dollar. U.S. officials warned there would be consequences if opposition politician Alexei Navalny dies in prison. Calls for mass protests in cities across Russia also mounted. The ruble has lost nearly 3% of its value this year.

Bitcoin stabilized around $55,000 after plunging almost 12% over the weekend, according to data from CoinDesk. Turkey's central bank said Friday it would ban the use of cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.

"The [cryptocurrency market] is really on edge right now," said Joel Kruger, a currency strategist at LMAX. "There were concerns over the weekend after Turkey came out with the news of major regulatory restrictions coming into force."

Some traders were speculating that the U.S. Treasury could make a similar decision, he said.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 inched down 0.1%, snapping a four-session winning streak.

In Asia, most major benchmarks ticked up. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.5% for its best day in over three weeks. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5%. However, India's benchmark stock index fell 1.8% as Covid-19 cases continued to climb.

Write to Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-19-21 1337ET