Stocks were little changed Monday as traders grappled with rising inflation expectations ahead of key reports due later in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 81.33 points to 39,431.51.
The S&P 500 weakened 1.26 points to 5,221.42.
The NASDAQ gained 47.37 points to 16,388.24.
The 30-stock Dow was coming off its best weekly performance of 2024, rising more than 2% last week. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ climbed more than 1% each during that period.
A New York Federal Reserve survey showed consumers last month increased their expectations for price increases in both the near and long term. On a one-year basis, inflation expectations rose to 3.3%. Their five-year outlook ticked up to 2.8%.
Stocks gave back earlier gains after the survey results were released. The numbers also come ahead of two key releases.
Shares of meme stock GameStop soared 87% after “Roaring Kitty,” the moniker of the Reddit trader behind 2021's short squeeze, posted online for the first time in three years.
Investors will look for insights into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy moving forward with April’s consumer price index report due out on Wednesday. Traders hope that a return to rate hikes is largely off the table for the Fed despite a slew of hotter-than-expected inflation prints in recent months.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained a bit of ground, pushing yields down to 4.49% from Friday’s 4.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 94 cents to $79.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices ditched $31.90 to $2,343.10.
