Meanwhile, live cattle closed in negative territory. And feeder cattle contracts posted significant losses.

Lean hogs churned after the opening bell stirred by competing market factors. Friday's pork cutout rise and higher Missouri direct hogs inspired buyers while fading calculated packer profit margins and eroding calculated packer margins motivated sellers.

However, futures began to deteriorate following word that pork prices in China are declining. And news that China returned U.S. pork that contained a banned chemical added to bearish hog market sentiment and sidelined potential buyers.

December lost more ground after falling through key moving-average-support floors and tripped sell stops in the process.

Mixed cash hog prices are expected on Tuesday, according to country hog buyers. Some packers have supplies well in hand after booking hogs ahead late last week while other processors struggle after posting a 168,000-head Saturday slaughter.

Monday's board setback put October deeper in oversold Relative Strength Index territory and fueled ideas that futures' downturn was overstated. Also, lean hogs' rise from session lows on Monday may bleed over into Tuesday.