NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell in early trading today as investors awaited figures on manufacturing and construction spending to gain a better sense of how the economy is faring.

Investors are trying to determine whether recent pessimism has been well-founded or overwrought will be examining a report from the Institute for Supply Management on U.S. manufacturing in February. Many analysts are expecting contraction, after a slight gain in January and a pullback in December. Wall Street also expects construction spending to have slipped in January. Both readings are due in the first hour of trading.

In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.66, or 0.35 percent, to 12,223.73.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 2.98, or 0.22 percent, to 1,327.65, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.31, or 0.10 percent, to 2,269.17.

Monday's decline comes after a sizable pullback Friday amid an unwelcome mix of economic and corporate reports. The news dashed hopes from early last week that the economy would soon show signs of a nascent recovery. The major indexes lost more than 2.5 percent Friday, with the Dow industrials losing 315 points.

Bond prices slipped Monday after jumping sharply amid Friday's stock market losses. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.54 percent from 3.53 percent late Friday.

Rising oil prices remained on some investors' minds. Light, sweet crude futures rose $1.49 to $103.33 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.