Stock Market Today: Dow ends lower in muted trade as investors await economic data

Investing.com -- The Dow closed lower Monday in muted trade as investors were reluctant to make big bets on stocks ahead of further catalysts including key economic data due later this week.

By 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 was 0.2% lower, and the NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.1%.

Energy stocks were the biggest drag on the broader market, weighed down by falling oil prices ahead of the OPEC+ meeting later in the week.

Oil prices snapped a four-week losing streak last week, but sentiment remains cautious even as uncertainty eased about whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, deeper oil production cuts.

Ahead of the meeting later this week, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source that OPEC+ was mulling a "collective further reduction" in output cuts.    

An OPEC+ cut in output would help offset the increase in supply growth from non-OPEC sources that has helped to keep a lid on oil prices. 

Fresh inflation data to headline slew of economic reports this week 

A slew of economic data will likely set the tone for trading this week, with the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, due Thursday, likely to be closely watched for further signs of slowing price pressures ahead of the Fed's Dec. 13-14 meeting.

Economists expect headline PCE to have risen just 0.1% on the month in November, a drop from 0.4% in September. The core reading, which strips out food and fuel costs and is considered a better gauge of underlying inflation, is expected to have risen 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, a drop from 3.7% the prior month, and the lowest since mid-2021.

The first revision of third quarter GDP, the weekly report on jobless claims and the Fed’s Beige Book will also round up the key economic this week. 

Amazon, Shopify shine as consumers spend big on Black Friday/h2

E-commerce stocks including Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY), and Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) ended higher as investors cheered data showing that consumers ramped up spending on Black Friday.  Black Friday sales rose 7.5% to a record $9.8 billion from the same period a year ago, according to a report from Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Analytics.

Signs that consumers remain willing to spend followed recent quarterly earnings from several retailers warning that consumer spending is weakening with shoppers facing financial pressure.

Crown Caste attracts activist attention; Footlocker downgraded/h2

Crown Castle International (NYSE:CCI) stock rose 3.5% with activist investor Elliott Investment Management pushing for change at the wireless tower owner, after disclosing a $2 billion stake.

Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL), meanwhile, fell nearly 1% after Citi downgraded the sportswear apparel retailer to sell from neutral on worries the negative macroeconomic backdrop would force the company to scale up promotional activity to clear inventory, denting margins.

(Peter Nurse and Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)

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