Stock market today: Tech leads US stocks lower as Wall Street gets ready to wrap up 2024

• The tech sector dragged US stocks lower on Monday, with major indexes down about 1%.
• The extended decline in the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 can be linked to rising bond yields over the past few weeks.
• Investors are keeping an eye on key economic data during this shortened trading week, including ISM manufacturing data.

US stocks finished lower on Monday, with the tech sector leading the decline heading into year-end.

Stocks were down nearly 2% at their lowest point on Monday, but some buying pressure alleviated the pain and the major indexes finished the day down by about 1%.

The Nasdaq 100 has extended its decline since mid-December to nearly 5% amid a sharp rise in bond yields, while the S&P 500 has dropped by about 3% over the same time period.

Yields edged lower on Monday, with the 10-year Treasury yield down eight basis points to 4.546%. However, the yield has been up sharply since earlier in the month, when it was hovering around 4.1%.

Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

For economic data this week, investors will watch the release of the S&P Case-Shiller home price index on Tuesday morning, followed by initial jobless claims on Thursday and ISM manufacturing data on Friday.

Of all the economic data being released this week, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said the ISM data is “the most important.”

“If the ISM moves above 50 in 2025, this is a sign of business expansion (purchasing managers) and thus, suggests that EPS growth diffusion should improve in 2025,” Lee said in a Monday note.

According to Fairlead Strategies founder Katie Stockton, the recent weakness in the stock market has flashed a technical “sell” signal.

“The SPX posted a modest gain during the shortened week, but out intermediate-term indicators logged ‘sell signals nonetheless, including the weekly stochastic and MACD,” Stockton said, referring to two momentum-based technical indicators.

Stockton said the sell signals increase the probability of a stock market correction in January.

A slide in Boeing shares weighed on the Dow on Monday, with the stock down as much as 6% after a Boeing 737-800 plane crashed in South Korea on Sunday, killing 179 people onboard.

It’s a shortened holiday trading week. The stock and bond markets are closed on Wednesday for New Year’s Day.

Here’s what else happened today:

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 0.72% to $71.11 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was higher by 0.38% to $74.07 a barrel.
• Gold was lower by 0.37% to $2,622.20 an ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield dropped eight basis points to 4.546%.
• Bitcoin rose 0.73% to $94,252.