Weak import data from China rekindled concern that a slowdown there will spread, pulling emerging-market stocks down from a two-month high and weighing on industrial metals. U.S. stocks dropped from the highest level since August as Treasuries rallied.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell after rising in nine of the past 10 sessions, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average couldn't extend its longest rally of the year. Miners led the MSCI All-Country World Index to its first drop in 10 days, with emerging-market equities tumbling 1.5 percent. The dollar advanced, while copper led metals lower and crude slipped.

U.S. stocks struggled to continue their two-week rebound from the first correction in four years, with investors awaiting corporate results to gauge the health of the economy. Data that showed the 11th straight monthly decline in Chinese imports rekindled concern that demand for metals from the world's second-largest economy will fall, sending equities in resource-rich nations lower.

After the market closes, JPMorgan Chase & Co. kicks off a string of results from banks. Investors are bracing for bad news, with the ratio of puts to calls on the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF at its highest level since March. Johnson & Johnson fell 0.5 percent after reporting its results.