Stocks moved to the upside at the start of trading on Monday but quickly gave back ground early in the session. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and spent much of the rest of the day lingering near the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day modestly lower. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 137.76 points or 0.6 percent to 23,057.41, the S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) dipped 10.90 points or 0.2 percent to 6,816.51 and the Dow edged down 41.49 points or 0.1 percent at 48,416.56.

The initial strength on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the sharp pullback on Friday.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as AI spending worries continue to weigh on stocks like Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL).

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some key U.S. economic data in the coming days.

The monthly jobs report for November along with a report on retail sales in October are due to be released on Tuesday, while a report on consumer price inflation in November is scheduled to be released on Thursday.

The data could impact the outlook for interest rates following the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement last Wednesday.

While the Fed cut rates by another quarter point, as widely expected, officials’ projections showed significant differences of opinion about further rate cuts.

Sector News

Computer hardware stocks extended the sharp pullback seen during last Friday’s session, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.9 percent.

Considerable weakness was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Telecom, networking and brokerage stocks also saw notable weakness, while pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks showed strong moves to the upside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground following last Friday’s slump. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.3 basis points at 4.161 percent.

Looking Ahead

While the monthly jobs report is likely to be in the spotlight on Tuesday, the retail sales data may also attract some attention.

SOURCE: RTTNEWS

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