On Monday, main US indexes went on a decline. The S&P 500 went down by 0.91% after closing at a record high on Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.89%. The NASDAQ Composite decreased by 1.39%.
Market players await the meeting of the Federal Reserve, scheduled on Wednesday. The Fed is set to decide on monetary policy, as well as measures to tackle soaring inflation. Analysts expect the regulator to hike interest rates in 2022 and accelerate the wind down of its bond-buying program.
While some experts suggest the Fed's monetary tightening would lead to a downtrend in the stock market, others assume a hawkish policy shift would not end the rally due to the high level of liquidity in the market, as well as great demand.
According to the latest data, US consumer prices in November climbed at the fastest pace in 40 years, undermining consumer confidence and sparking indignation among politicians.
Investors also remain wary of the spread of the new Omicron strain of COVID-19. The UK reported the first confirmed death caused by Omicron, as the government enacted new restrictions to limit the outbreak. The new strain was also detected in China. There is still no clear data on the danger posed by Omicron.
On the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the best performers were Coca-Cola Co. (+1.48%), Walmart Inc. (+1.80%), and Johnson & Johnson (+1.79%).
Pharmaceutical companies manufacturing coronavirus vaccines led the upside on the S&P 500. Moderna gained 5.8% and Pfizer rose by 4.6%, as US and UK governments urged their citizens to take booster shots as soon as possible.
Shares of AEA-Bridges Impact and Harley-Davidson increased by 3.6% and 4.7% respectively on the news of the merger between AEA-Bridges Impact and Harley-Davidson's EV motorcycle division LifeWire. LifeWire is set to go public in 2022.
On the NASDAQ Composite, the best performers of the session were SeaChange International Inc. (+128.81%), Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (+80.38%), and Foghorn Therapeutics Inc. (+54.96%). The worst performing stocks were Nisun International Enterprise Development Group Co., Ltd. (-60.29%), X4 Pharmaceuticals Inc. (-44.13%), and IGM Biosciences Inc. (-41.31%).
Arena Pharmaceuticals gained 80% amid reports of Pfizer acquiring the company in a $6.7 billion deal.
Cryptocurrencies also went down, as investors shifted from high risk assets. BTC declined by 6.2% to $46,891.51.
European and Asian markets closed mixed on Monday. The STOXX Europe 600 decreased by 0.4%, the Hang Seng lost 0.2%, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.7%, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.4%.
