The Nasdaq (^IXIC) led the market higher on Monday as technology stocks gained in a shortened trading week. The tech-heavy index rose nearly 1% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) increased by 0.7%.

Semiconductor stocks rose, with AI chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) gain more than 3% while Broadcom (AVGO) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) met.

Earnings in shares of social media platform Meta (TARGET) and electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) also helped lift the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) spent most of the session in red territory but managed to close up almost 0.2%.

The 10-year Treasury (^TNX) rose as much as 7 basis points to 4.6% during the session.

In economic data, Consumer Confidence recorded in December the biggest month-on-month decline since November 2020.

The stock market will close at 1:00 PM ET on Tuesday, followed by the Christmas holiday on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) struggled to rise above the flat line on Monday, weighed down by shares of Walmart (WMT).

The retail giant fell as much as 3% in the session after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued the company along with Branch Messenger, alleging they illegally forced “delivery people to use expensive deposit accounts” to receive payment.

Other Dow laggards on Monday included software giant Microsoft (MSFT) and sportswear manufacturer Nike (FROM).

Shares of video sharing platform Rumble (ROME) extended session gains to 100% late Monday after a $775 million investment from crypto firm Tether (USDT-USD).

“Tether’s investment in Rumble reflects our shared values ​​of decentralization, independence, transparency and the fundamental right to free expression,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Friday when the strategic partnership was announced.

Rumble shares opened more than 40% higher on Monday. By afternoon, the stock had soared to its highest level since 2022.

Ben Werschkul of Yahoo Finance reports:

Elon Musk he wants more Democrats to participate to the nascent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Deputy Aaron Bean is responsible for making it happen.

The Florida Republican is a Trump/Musk ally and co-founder of the House DOGE caucus, which met for its first meeting last week to begin courting curious Democrats as Congress wraps up its business for the year

“They’re still a little bit scared, they feel like they’re DOGE out,” Bean said of the other side of the aisle in a recent interview.

read more here

Brooke DiPalma of Yahoo Finance reports:

Nordstrom (JWN) is returning to its private roots after years of earnings struggles and investor indifference.

The Nordstrom founding family, which owned a roughly 33% stake, teamed up with retail investor El Puerto of Liverpool, which owned a 10% stake, to take the company private. The Port is a real estate and department store conglomerate that owns stores with household names such as Gap, Banana Republic, and Williams Sonoma, among others, in addition to department stores and other format retailers.

The two will acquire all outstanding shares in an all-cash deal valued at about $6.25 billion.

read more here

Technology (XLK) and Communication (XLC) stocks rose modestly on Monday, while the rest of the S&P 500 struggled to gain traction.

Giant chip from Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2%, while social media platform Meta (TARGET) also gained more than 2%.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) crossed into green territory to rise 0.2% and the highly technological Nasdaq (^IXIC) was up 0.5% at 12:30 pm ET.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) extended losses on Monday, falling more than 2.5% over the past 24 hours to touch $93,000 per token.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been trending lower since last week, when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that central bank policymakers will likely scale back rate cuts next year.

Bitcoin has fallen more than 10% since its all-time highs north of $108,000 touched last Tuesday. The token is still up more than 35% since the November 5 presidential election.

Semiconductor stocks rose on Monday, with shares of AI chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) gaining more than 1% while Broadcom (AVGO) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) also went higher.

AMD (AMD) gained more than 5% after Rosenblatt Securities named the chipmaker a top pick for 2025.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm (QCOM) shares gained after the company won a legal battle Friday over a breach of contract dispute with Arm (ARM).

Shares in the UK-based chip designer fell more than 5% in the session.

Consumer confidence came in below expectations in December, largely due to how Americans view the economic outlook for the coming year.

The expectations index, which includes the near-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, sank 12.6 points to 81.1 in December, its biggest month-on-month decline. since November 2020.

Overall, the December consumer confidence reading came in at 104.7, below the 113.2 expected by economists polled by Bloomberg.

“Consumers’ views on current labor market conditions continued to improve, in line with recent jobs and unemployment data, but their assessment of business conditions weakened,” the economist said in head of the Conference Board, Dana Peterson, in the statement. “Compared with last month, consumers in December were substantially less optimistic about business conditions and future incomes. Also, pessimism about future job prospects returned after optimism prevailed in October and in November”.

In December, 21.3% of respondents predicted fewer jobs would be available in the next six months, compared with 17.9% the previous month. Meanwhile, expectations of lower earnings and worse business conditions over the next six months also rose.

Markets, which have recently suffered a fall amid growing concern over uncertainty policies around the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve in 2025, dropped after the launch.

All three major indices quickly hit session lows before starting to pare losses.

Consumer confidence expectations fell to 104.7 in December, compared to estimates of 113.2.

The reading missed 47 estimates, which ranged from 109.3 to 116.00 in 47 estimates, according to Bloomberg data.

Stocks opened mixed to start a week of short trading as investors assess how the Federal Reserve will manage its interest rate policy next year.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose slightly, while the Nasdaq (^IXIC) gained 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.4%.

Consumer discretionary stocks (XLY) earned, while Finance (45) and Real Estate (XLRE) was delayed in the first negotiations.

Individual engines included AI heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA), more than 1% and 2%, respectively.

Wall Street is coming out a volatile week after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the central bank will slow its pace of interest rate cuts next year.