The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined Monday as the market started a holiday-shortened trading week on a soft note.

The blue-chip Dow fell 140 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 0.6%, as Tesla, Meta and Nvidia all traded in the green.

Trading is expected to be relatively muted during the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. ET, and the market is shut on Christmas Day.

Weak economic data seemed to sour the sentiment a bit. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for December fell to 104.7, its lowest level since September and below a Dow Jones estimate of 113.0. Meanwhile, orders for durable goods — generally big-ticket items such as aircraft, appliances and computers — fell 1.1% in November, the largest month-over-month drop since June.

The market is coming off a roller-coaster ride that saw the blue-chip Dow suffer a 10-day losing streak, its longest since 1974. The Dow tumbled 1,100 points Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer rate cuts for 2025 than previously projected. A cooler-than-expected inflation reading at the end of the week helped stocks recoup some of the losses.

Month to date, the 30-stock Dow is down 4.6% in December, while the S&P 500 is off 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 1.8% this month.

Investors have been reassured that federal agencies will stay open into the new year after President Joe Biden signed a funding bill Saturday that averted a government shutdown. The bill funds federal agencies at current levels for the next three months.

Source : CNBC