NEW YORK ? US stocks fell Friday, snapping the Dow's eight-session rally, amid monetary tightening concerns following India's surprise rate hike.

After opening with small gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37.19 points (0.35 percent) to 10,741.98 in closing trades.

The Nasdaq composite shed 16.86 points (0.71 percent) at 2,374.41 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 5.94 points (0.51 percent) to a provisional 1,159.88.

The major indices spent almost the entire session in negative territory and closed better than lows hit in the final hour of trade amid the quarterly expiration of futures and options contracts, known as the "quadruple-witching" hour.

Stocks extended losses "after the central bank of India made an intra-meeting move to raise interest rates, and traders viewed the action as a reminder that strong economic growth can bring the potential for rate hikes, which tend to give stock markets indigestion," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said in a client note.

Traders "used the action as an excuse to book profits after a nice run," they said.