The stock market added to its losses Monday and was down in the last hour, near the lows of the day. Investors are not showing up for a year-end Santa Claus Claus rally, at least yet.
The S&P 500 sold off 0.5% while the Nasdaq fell 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average joined the sell-off, losing 0.1%. The Russell 2000 small-cap index shed 0.9%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ trust ETF lost 1.2%.
Volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq was higher vs. the same time on Friday.
Crude oil rose 2% to $75.97 per barrel. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF inched up 0.5%. Natural gas plunged 11%. It is trading below $6 per million British thermal units.
Bitcoin futures dropped 1.3% to $16,550.
The 10-year Treasury note yield edged up 10 basis points to 3.59%. Treasuries have come under pressure as the yield curve steepens, after bonds revived on lower CPI numbers.
European markets saw gains, with the German DAX up 0.4% and Paris CAC 40 adding 0.3%. The London FTSE 100 rose 0.4% in afternoon trading.
Odds for a 25-basis-point hike at the February meeting stand at 61%, taking it to the 4.5%-4.75% range. Meanwhile, 39% are looking for a 50-basis-point hike, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The December housing market index came in at 31, lower than the 34 consensus and the lowest in 10 years. The measure tracks homebuilder assessments of present and future sales, and buyer traffic. The index is a weighted average of present sales of new homes, sales expected in the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers.
The index has fallen short of expectations every month in 2022 as mortgage rates peaked over 7% in November, a level not seen since 1998. Rates have eased back toward 6%.
Musk Madness: Monday Edition
Tesla rose more than 6% in the pre-market after CEO Elon Musk asked Twitter in a poll whether he should leave Twitter. He also announced he would "abide" by the opinion.
Skepticism set in after the initial buying spike, dropping the stock back into the red in the first hour.
Of the poll respondents, 57.5% told him to step down while 42.5% asked him to stay. Musk responded by saying that he couldn't find anyone else to run the troubled social media outlet. TSLA stock is down 2% at midday.
Oppenheimer also downgraded Tesla to perform from outperform on Monday morning, citing potential brand destruction due to the Twitter controversy.
Stock Market: Media Stock Drops On Movie Miss
Walt Disney fell 3.4% after disappointing ticket sales of its "Avatar: The Way of Water" movie release in some major markets. The entertainment giant is down over 44% year to date and in bear market territory. It is the Dow Jones biggest loser today.
Water solutions company Pentair rose 2.4% as an S&P 500 leader, after a Stifel analyst upgraded the stock to buy from hold, and raised its price target to 57 from 46. The move lifted the stock above its 21-day exponential moving average, finding support at the line.
Vaccine maker Moderna reversed lower after morning gains, down 1.4%, following a Jefferies upgrade to buy from neutral. The firm also raised its price target to 275. The analyst sees upside after positive Phase 2 data from its personalized cancer vaccine for skin cancer patients, and expects positive Phase 3 data from a respiratory vaccine.
MRNA stock is extended from the 5% buy zone of a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 188.75.
Aerojet Rocketdyne climbed 1.6% in heavy volume, on news that defense contractor L3Harris will buy the small cap for $4.7 billion. LHX shares dropped 3.2% in heavy volume.
Stock Market Today: IBD 50 Movers; Steel Stocks Lead The Way
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF dropped 1.1%, in line with the major stock market indexes.
Global steel producer Tenaris rose 1.6%, lifting back above its 21-day exponential moving average. Shares have been trading sideways since breaking out of a cup-with-handle base and reaching the 34.19 buy point in November.
Steel manufacturer and recycler Commercial Metals gave back morning gains, now down 0.8%. The stock was added to the Leaderboard IBD 50 top 10 list on Friday. The company holds the No. 2 spot in the Metal Processing & Fabrication group, ranked 24th out of the IBD 197 industry groups.
CMC has been on a tear since its fiscal Q4 earnings report in mid-October. Shares are extended from the buy zone of a cup base with a 44.45 buy point.
Cancer drug maker Arcus Biosciences improved since early trading, down 0.2% in heavy volume, as peer Moderna pulled ahead.
