S&P 500 Index drops to weakest level in more than two weeks below 3,900

• Wall Street's main indexes started the day in the negative territory.
• Energy shares post strong gains supported by rising oil prices.
• S&P 500 Technology Index is down more than 1%. 

Major equity indexes in the US started the new week on the back foot. As of writing, the S&P 500 was trading at its lowest level since February 5 at 3,880, losing 0.6% on the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.45% at 31,349 and the Nasdaq Composite was losing 1.1% at 13,430.

Reflecting the risk-averse market environment, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, is up nearly 10%.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is rising more than 2% boosted by a 3% increase in crude oil prices on Monday. The Financials Index is the only other major sector that stays in the positive territory. On the other hand, the risk-sensitive Technology Index is down 1% as the biggest percentage decliner after the opening bell.

S&P 500 chart (daily)