US stocks sank on Monday, while Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) decline deepened, as Wall Street’s strong late-November rebound was about to accelerate on the first trading day of December.
Tech led the retreat, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) falling nearly 1% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) falling nearly 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped about 0.6% on Friday after Wall Street indexes led the blue-chip benchmark for a fifth day of gains.
All “Magnificent Seven” megacap stocks declined except Amazon (AMZN), with Nvidia (NVDA), META (META), and Tesla (TSLA) each falling about 1%.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin fell sharply, falling nearly 6% in another sign that the market is starting December in a risk-off mood. The leading cryptocurrency fell below $85,000 per token on Monday morning, extending a week-long decline before trading above that level.
December is typically a strong month for stocks, but strategists say the so-called Santa Claus rally may not happen this year as a series of events — not least President Trump’s tariff push — have kept uncertainty high. Analysts say this could lead to shares falling below normal seasonal trends through 2025.
The focus for interest rates is still on the Federal Reserve’s path, even though more than 85% of bets are on a quarter-point cut when policymakers meet next week. The Thanksgiving week rally was largely fueled by supportive comments from Fed officials on rising expectations of cuts and lower borrowing costs. But the central bank has now entered a blackout ahead of its meeting.
It focuses on economic data to determine rates expectations, as the flow of releases continues as normal after the government shutdown. Monday brings a reading on November manufacturing activity, ahead of updates on services activity and the jobs market in the coming days. But the highlight came on Friday, with the delayed release of September’s personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge.
A year after Trump fell out with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Wall Street is also bracing for a possible change of leadership at the Fed. Trump said on Sunday that he had made his choice to replace Powell. Trump did not name any names, although White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is considered the most likely candidate.
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