U.S. Stocks Close Lower Again As Growth Worries Weigh

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, extending losses to a fourth straight session, as rising concerns over a recession amid rising interest rates hurt sentiment.

The Federal Reserve last week indicated it plans to continue raising interest rates next year, leading to worries the aggressive monetary policy tightening will tip the economy into a recession.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will require "substantially more evidence" inflation is on a sustained downward trend before halting its rate hikes, traders are likely to keep a close eye on the inflation reading.

The major averages all ended notably lower. The Dow settled with a loss of 162.92 points or 0.49 percent at 32,757.54, the S&P 500 dropped 34.70 points or 0.90 percent to settle at 3,817.66, and the Nasdaq ended lower by 159.38 points or 1.49 percent at 10,546.03.

In U.S. economic news today, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly seen a continued deterioration in the month of December.

The report showed the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 31 in December from 33 in November. The decreased surprised economists, who had expected the index to rise to 36.

The housing market index declined for the twelfth straight month, falling to its lowest reading since mid-2012, with the exception of the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020.

Technology stocks posted sharp losses as bond yields rose amid bets the central bank will continue with its rate hikes.

Shares of Apple Inc., Microsoft and Alphabet all ended notably lower.

Meta Platforms shed more than 4 percent, weighed down by an announcement from the European Commission that it could impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the company' annual global turnover if there is an evidence showing Meta has infringed antitrust laws.

Disney shares dropped nearly 5 percent after its "Avatar. The Way of the Water" reported lower than expected sales in its opening weekend.

Nike ended 2.7 percent down, and Home Depot closed nearly 2% down. Cisco, American Express, Visa, IBM, Goldman Sachs and Intel also ended weak.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 1.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dove by 1.9 percent.

The major European markets closed higher, due largely to bargain hunting at several counters after last week's selloff. Data showing an improvement in German business confidence in December helped as well.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.27%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 0.4%, Germany's DAX surged 0.36% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.32%.

Reports on housing starts, consumer confidence, new and existing home sales and durable goods orders are likely to attract attention in the coming days.