US stocks end Monday mostly lower

The New York Stock Exchange closed Monday in negative territory as investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech due Friday and data from retailers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.08%, or 34.3 points, to close at 44,911.82.

The S&P 500 lost 0.01%, or 0.65 points, to 6,449.15.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq ticked up 0.03%, or 6.8 points, to close at 21,629.77.

Stocks of tech giants Microsoft and Meta fell by around 0.6% and 2.3%, respectively, which hurt the market as a whole.

This week, investors are awaiting Friday's speech by Powell to listen out for potential clues on rate cuts this year.

Also this week, investors will analyze the financial results of big-box stores like Walmart, Target, Lowe's, and Home Depot to look for hints about the state of the American consumer. As the year draws to a close, market players' top concerns are still high valuations, tariffs, and slowing job growth.

On Monday US President Donald Trump hosted his Ukrainian counterpart and European leaders Monday for highly anticipated talks aimed at reaching a unified position on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump said that he is optimistic that the US and Europe will be able to reach an agreement to provide Ukraine with security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal to end the war.

"I'm optimistic that collectively, we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine, and I actually think there won't be," he said while hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House.