Stocks fell Monday as investors took a pause from a historic rally in September and held back ahead of a busy week of economic and earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 100 points in midday trading after a report showed factory orders fell slightly more than expected in August, but pending home sales rose a bit more than forecast.

Analysts say the market was due for a pullback following a 10.4 percent gain in the Dow last month. The monthlong rally has come on relatively low volume, a sign that many investors are still waiting on the sidelines.

Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research, said the market has been trading in a broad range over the past six months. And with it approaching the high end of that range, a pullback is natural.

The market has been "alternating between euphoria and despair," Roberts said of the wide trading range dating back to late April, when stocks hit their high for the year.

This week brings a number of potentially important news events for stocks, including the monthly jobs survey on Friday and earnings from Dow component Alcoa Inc. on Thursday, the traditional kickoff to the quarterly earnings season.