NEW YORK, New York - Rising U.S. Treasury yields kept most stock traders at bay on Monday, reflecting a trend on global markets which saw stock indices fall as bond yields rose.

Technology stocks took the brunt of the selling in the United States, while the Dow Jones industrials made modest gains.

"Investors are a little nervous about Treasury yields rising so quickly and it has been a pretty quick move in a short period of time," Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest, in Charlotte, North Carolina told Reuters Thomson Monday.

"What investors are grappling with ... is what does this mean from an inflation perspective. Because of that, there's a little bit of tantrum in the market right now," she said.

At the close of trading Monday, the Nasdaq Composite was down 341.42 points or 2.46 percent to 13,533.05.

The Dow Jones industrials gained 27.37 points or 0.09 percent to 31,521.69.

The Standard and Poor's 500 eased 30.21 points or 0.77 percent to 3,876.50.

Surprising the U.S. dollar, which normally rises on the prospect of higher interest rates, continued its descent, adding to losses incurred in the Asian trading zone.

The euro rose to 1.2156 around the New York close Monday. The British pound was robust at 1.4065. The Japanese yen firmed to 105.07. The Swiss franc inched up to 0.8962.

The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker than it's close in Asia, last trading at 1.2615. The Australian dollar was sharply higher at 0.7915, as was the New Zealand dollar at 0.7324.

In London, the FTSE 100 dipped 0.18 percent. The German Dax slid 0.31 percent. The CAC 40 in Paris was off 0.11 percent.

On Asian markets, the Australian All Ordinaries dipped 2.40 points or 0.03 percent to 7,061.60, despite the Australian dollar hurdling the crucial 0.79 cents level to trade at 0.7908, a 3-year high.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 138.11 points or 0.46 percent to 7,061.60.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 324.90 points or 1.06 percent to 30,319.83.

China's Shanghai Composite let go 53.72 points or 1.45 percent to 3,642.44.