US stocks pulled back on Monday as Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares slipped amid a Chinese antitrust probe and investors prepared for this week's consumer inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) edged down 0.5%, coming off a losing week for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) fell 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) also stumbled 0.6% in the wake of fresh records for both.
The next test for Wall Street stocks comes in a consumer inflation report, which will set the stage for the Federal Reserve's final interest rate decision of the year. The November Consumer Price Index on Wednesday will stress-test the widespread expectation for a quarter-point rate cut on Dec. 18 after the latest monthly jobs report failed to shake that conviction.
Meanwhile, Nvidia stock slid more than 2.5% after Chinese regulators opened a probe into the chipmaker for potential breaches of anti-monopoly laws. The company's lead in AI chips has put it in the middle of the US-China wrangles over tech.
But US-listed Chinese stocks popped after Beijing made its first move toward loosening monetary policy in over a decade, signaling bold stimulus is on the way. Shares of Alibaba ( BABA , 9988.HK ) and XPeng ( XPEV , 9868.HK ) surged, following gains in Hong Kong .
In corporate news, a person of interest was arrested in Pennsylvania related to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) executive Brian Thompson. The CEO of insurer UnitedHealthcare was shot last Wednesday outside the hotel in Manhattan where the company was holding its investor day.