U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as investors digested a slew of third-quarter earnings reports and monitored the performance of other major equities markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 126.93 points, or 0.50 percent, to 25,317.41. The S&P 500 decreased 11.90 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,755.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 19.60 points, or 0.26 percent, to 7,468.63.

Oil field service company Halliburton and offroad vehicle maker Polaris Industries reported earnings that topped market expectations on Monday before the opening bell.

The current earnings season is off to a good start thus far. Third quarter earnings are expected to increase 21.9 percent from the same period last year and blended revenue growth estimate is 7.4 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.

In Europe, Moody's downgraded Italy's debt rating but kept its outlook as "stable." Italian bonds had been selling off amid worries over Italy's budget, but on Monday rallied sharply.

Chinese stocks surged more than 4 percent on Monday, as market confidence was boosted by the recent comments of Vice Premier Liu He on the stock market.

On Friday, Liu answered questions from domestic media about hot economic and financial issues, where he underlined the resilience of the Chinese economy.

Shares of Jacobs Engineering and Advanced Micro Device rose 6.8 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. Both companies have huge exposure to the Chinese market.