The U.S. stocks fall to kick off December as bitcoin, tech stocks decline

Stocks retreated on Monday, following crypto prices lower, as volatility continued into December’s trading month.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each lost 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back by 218 points, or 0.5%.

Broadcom and Super Micro Computer each lost more than 2%, indicating more profit-taking in the artificial intelligence trade. However, Synopsys shares popped after Nvidia announced an investment in the company. Nvidia shares rose more than 1%.

Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, dropped more than 7% to trade below $87,000. The digital currency late last month fell below $90,000 for the first time since April and has since struggled to stay above that mark.

Wall Street is coming off a strong week. The Dow and S&P 500 jumped more than 3%, while the Nasdaq rallied close to 5%.

But the market turned turbulent and was anything but smooth sailing in November. The S&P 500 and Dow closed modestly above flat for the month, while the Nasdaq shed 1.5% to snap a seven-month advance. At one point in November, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down nearly 8% from the October close amid concerns around AI stock valuations.

To be sure, seasonality is on Wall Street’s side as December trading begins. The S&P 500 averages an advance of more than 1% in December, making it the third-best month of the year for the benchmark in records going back to 1950, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.