4:11pm: Bitcoin tops $41,000
The Doe closed Monday down 41 points, 0.1%, at 36, 204, the Nasdaq Composite fell 120 points, 0.8%, to 14,185 and the S&P 500 declined 25 points, 0.5%, to 4,570. The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 17 points, 0.9%, to 1,880.
Cryptocurrency stocks were an exception, as Bitcoin crossed the $41,000 threshold for the first time in 20 months. Coinbase shares rose 5.5%, Riot Platforms jumped nearly 9% and CleanSpark popped more than 16%.
Meanwhile, tech shares, which have propelled the major indexes to five consecutive winning weeks, struggled. Nvidia stock fell 2.7%, while Meta lost 1.5%.
“Digestion is the word of the day,” said Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at US Bank Asset Management. “The sectors that are down today are basically the ones that carried the market for the better part of 11 months.”
12:00pm: US stocks extend falls as rally fizzles out for now
US stocks extended their falls in cautious trading ahead of a raft of data on the US jobs market and after a sharp drop in durable orders.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 148.85 points, 0.4%, at 36,096.65, the S&P 500 was down 34.91 points, 0.8%, at 4,559.72 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 168.71 points, 1.2%, at 14,136.32.
US factory orders fell by 3.6% month-on-month in October, the Census Bureau reported, or by $21.8 billion to $576.8 billion.
That follows two months of gains, and is larger than the 3% drop which was expected, while orders for durable goods (long-lasting equipment and machinery) fell more sharply, by 5.4%.
Stocks on the move include Meta Platforms, down 2.0%, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 680,000 shares in November, valued at almost $185 million, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
9:42am: US stocks retreat but crypto shares soar
US stocks started the week on the back foot, consolidating recent gains, ahead of a week dominated by updates on the US jobs market.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 104.83 points, 0.3%, at 36,140.67, the S&P 500 was down 28.77 points, 0.6%, at 4,565.86 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 133.69 points, 0.9%, at 14,171.34.
Crypto-related assets surged after Bitcoin topped $40,000 for the first time this year. Coinbase jumped 7%, MicroStrategy gained 7% and Marathon Digital climbed 13%.
Elsewhere, shares in Uber rose 4% after S&P Dow Jones Indices on Friday said it will enter the S&P 500, along with Jabil and Builders FirstSource.
The three will replace Sealed Air, Alaska Air Group and SolarEdge Technologies.
7:00am: US markets called lower ahead of big data week
US markets are expected to open lower on Monday as investors look ahead to a busy week of data on the health of the jobs market.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%, while those for the S&P 500 0.3% lower and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%.
Craig Erlam at Oanda thinks the next couple of weeks “could be massive for financial markets going into 2024, with a range of data from the US in the coming days setting us up nicely for the Fed meeting on the 13th.”
“The standout event is the jobs report on Friday, with the Fed still seemingly of the view that getting inflation back sustainably to target will require some more slack in the labor market.”
“Another weaker report, especially one paired with 0.2% monthly wage growth, could further fuel the belief that not only is the tightening cycle over but rate cuts may not be far away,” he suggested.
In company news, Spotify rose 1.3% in pre-market trading after announcing plans to axe a fifth of its workforce after warning that economic growth has slowed dramatically.
In a memo to staff on Monday, chief executive Daniel Ek said that Spotify would cut about 17% of its 9,000 strong global workforce.
Elsewhere, shares of Alaska Air Group dropped 8.6% in pre-market trading after the carrier said on Sunday it would acquire peer Hawaiian Holdings for $1.9 billion, including debt.
The news saw Hawaiian's shares nearly triple in value.