Wall Street’s major indexes closed lower on Monday, with losses led by a drop in Nvidia shares that weighed on the technology sector. Investors were cautious ahead of key inflation data, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report set for release on Wednesday.
Market Performance
- Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 240.59 points (0.54%) to 44,401.93.
- S&P 500 dropped 37.42 points (0.61%) to 6,052.85.
- Nasdaq Composite lost 123.08 points (0.62%) to 19,736.69.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors declined, with financials and communication services among the hardest hit.
Sector Highlights
- Nvidia fell 2.5% after China’s market regulator launched an antitrust investigation, impacting the broader Information Technology Sector (-0.45%).
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slid 5.7% following a downgrade from BofA Global Research, pulling down the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (-0.87%).
- Comcast dropped 9.5% after forecasting a loss of 100,000 broadband subscribers, dragging the Communication Services Sector (-1.3%).
- Hershey surged 10.9% on reports that Mondelez was exploring an acquisition, while Mondelez shares fell 2.3%.
- Workday gained 5.1% after news of its addition to the S&P 500 index.
- Interpublic Group rose 3.6% amid reports of acquisition talks with Omnicom, which saw its shares fall 10.3%.
Inflation Data in Focus
Investors are awaiting CPI data on Wednesday and the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 17-18 meeting. The odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut surged to over 85% after November’s unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, signaling a softening labor market.
Trading Activity
- Declining issues outpaced advancing ones by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE.
- The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 122 new highs and 60 new lows.
- Trading volume was 15.11 billion shares, above the 20-day average of 14.46 billion shares.
Looking Ahead
Wall Street began December on a strong note, but uncertainties surrounding inflation, Federal Reserve policy, and geopolitical developments continue to weigh on sentiment. Market participants will closely watch this week’s economic data for clarity on the Fed’s path forward.
