NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks mostly fell early Monday to start a holiday-shortened trading week as rising Treasury bond yields challenged a year-end rally.
The final five days of a trading year and opening two sessions of the new year are known as a period of a potential “Santa Claus rally.”
But the rise of the 10-year US Treasury note “has the potential to be the Grinch that stole the Santa Claus rally if it keeps rising,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent at 42,602.93.
The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.2 percent to 5,920.13, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent at 19,590.66.
Wall Street Week Ahead: Investors hope for ‘Santa Claus’ rally as stocks lose steam
Sentiment had been bolstered after congressional lawmakers agreed on a stopgap measure early Saturday to avert a government shutdown. But the major indices lost ground last week after the Federal Reserve signaled it expects fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.
Among individual companies, Nordstrom fell 1.1 percent after Mexican investment group El Puerto de Liverpool and members of the Nordstrom family reached a $6.25 billion deal that involves taking department store chain private.
Markets will have a half session on Christmas Eve Tuesday, followed by Wednesday’s holiday.
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