U.S. stocks finish below record highs

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 249.04 points, or 0.51%, to 48,461.93, the S&P 500 shed 24.19 points, or 0.35%, to 6,905.75 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 118.75 points, or 0.50%, to 23,474.35

U.S. stocks dropped on Monday and gold tumbled from all-time highs at the top of a holiday-shortened week.

The country’s stock indexes ended in negative territory, weighed down by a broad selloff, which was slightly mitigated by strength in some defensive sectors that have underperformed for much of the year.

Treasury yields dropped and the dollar inched above its lowest level in nearly three months, reflecting shifting expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts in the coming year.

In light volume trading, we’re seeing a reversal of what we saw over the last couple of days, says Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle. The broader market is looking at the strength of last week and selling off as we head into year-end.

With just three sessions remaining, U.S. stocks were on course to end 2025 near record highs, having notched double-digit gains in a tumultuous year dominated by tariff wars, central bank policy and geopolitical tensions.

When we started the year, we saw tariffs get implemented and the question was ‘will the market survive?’ The answer was yes, Haworth added. The global economy has managed to weather many of the storms and uncertainties this year because consumers were spending and business continued to invest.

The more we can broaden out, that gives this rally more room to run, Haworth said. We’ve had three years of strong gains there’s reason for us to expect a fourth.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin dropped 0.42% to $87,177.85. Ethereum declined 0.21% to $2,928.82.