Stock market today: Wall Street loses ground following its best month in more than a year

By DAMIAN J. TROISE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped on Wall Street Monday ahead of some key reports this week on the job market that might provide more insight into the Federal Reserve’s thinking about interest rates.

The S&P 500 was off 0.7%. The index is coming off its best month in more than a year and reached its highest level in more than a year on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 102 points, or 0.3%, to 36,139 as of 10:01 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 1%.

Treasury yields were higher, putting some pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 4.26% from 4.21%.

Technology companies were among the biggest weights on the market. Microsoft fell 2.9% and Apple fell 1.1%.

Spotify surged 9.6% after announcing its third round of layoffs for the year. Uber gained 5.6% on news that the ride-hailing service is joining the S&P 500.

Alaska Air Group slumped 16.8% after announcing it will buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal, a tie-up that would test the Biden administration as it is fighting consolidation in the airline sector.

Wall Street is coming off a solid week and a strong November on hopes that inflation is easing enough to allow the Federal Reserve to close out its aggressive rate hike plan. Investors are also hoping that the economy remains strong enough to avoid a recession.

Investors will get several key updates on the economy this week, including reports on the services sector and the jobs market.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 1.3%.

Markets in Europe were mostly higher and were mixed in Asia.