U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.51%

Investing.com – Mexico stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Industrials, Consumer Goods & Services and Consumer Staples sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Mexico, the S&P/BMV IPC fell 0.39%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/BMV IPC were Qualitas Controladora, SAB De CV (BMV:Q), which rose 1.73% or 3.25 points to trade at 191.09 at the close. Meanwhile, America Movil SAB de CV M (BMV:AMXB) added 0.70% or 0.13 points to end at 18.78 and Regional SAB de CV (BMV:RA) was up 0.59% or 0.85 points to 145.16 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (BMV:VOLARA), which fell 2.23% or 0.37 points to trade at 16.21 at the close. Grupo Mexico, S.A.B. De C.V. (BMV:GMEXICOB) declined 1.66% or 2.87 points to end at 170.42 and Becle SA (BMV:CUERVO) was down 1.53% or 0.32 points to 20.59.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Mexico Stock Exchange by 117 to 102 and 17 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 4.48% or 204.00 to $4,348.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 1.89% or 1.07 to hit $57.81 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.63% or 0.98 to trade at $61.22 a barrel.

USD/MXN was up 0.48% to 17.98, while EUR/MXN rose 0.49% to 21.17.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 97.72.

Investing.com – Canada stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Materials, Healthcare and IT sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.32%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were TerraVest Industries Inc (TSX:TVK), which rose 3.35% or 5.48 points to trade at 168.96 at the close. Meanwhile, Teck Resources Ltd B (TSX:TECKb) added 2.56% or 1.63 points to end at 65.33 and Peyto Exploration&Development Corp (TSX:PEY) was up 1.89% or 0.43 points to 23.15 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Bitfarms Ltd (TSX:BITF), which fell 7.65% or 0.28 points to trade at 3.38 at the close. Perpetua Resources Corp (TSX:PPTA) declined 6.88% or 2.50 points to end at 33.82 and Curaleaf Holdings Inc (TSX:CURA) was down 6.38% or 0.24 points to 3.52.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 510 to 456 and 93 ended unchanged.

Shares in Teck Resources Ltd B (TSX:TECKb) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 2.56% or 1.63 to 65.33.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was up 18.43% to 11.18.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 4.45% or 202.70 to $4,350.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 1.90% or 1.08 to hit $57.82 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.64% or 0.99 to trade at $61.23 a barrel.

CAD/USD was unchanged 0.13% to 0.73, while CAD/EUR unchanged 0.12% to 0.62.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 97.72.

Investing.com -- Verastem Inc (NASDAQ:VSTM) stock dropped 3.4% in after-hours trading Monday following the company’s announcement that it will discontinue its RAMP 203 clinical trial in advanced KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The biopharmaceutical company said it made the decision to halt the trial after evaluating interim data and considering the evolving treatment landscape for KRAS G12C inhibitors. Verastem will instead focus its resources on the clinical development of VS-7375, an oral KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor, in advanced NSCLC and other solid tumors.

"While avutometinib plus defactinib combined well with a G12C inhibitor to drive early and sustained anti-tumor responses, next generation G12C inhibitors are establishing a new benchmark with higher response rates," said John Hayslip, chief medical officer at Verastem Oncology.

The company noted that the RAMP 203 trial, conducted in collaboration with Amgen, had demonstrated some promising results. In the doublet combination of avutometinib and LUMAKRAS (sotorasib), treatment-naïve patients achieved an overall response rate of 40% and median progression-free survival of 11.1 months. However, previously treated patients showed lower response rates.

Verastem will now prioritize VS-7375, which has shown a 69% response rate in advanced KRAS G12D NSCLC patients, as well as its RAMP 205 trial evaluating avutometinib plus defactinib in combination with chemotherapy for first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Patients currently enrolled in the RAMP 203 trial will have the option to continue treatment at their doctor’s discretion, but no new patients will be enrolled. The company said it is assessing opportunities to share the trial data in the future.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com – Colombia stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Industrials, Services and Agriculture sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Colombia, the COLCAP added 1.28%.

The best performers of the session on the COLCAP were Grupo Bolivar SA (BVC:SCA), which rose 1.90% or 1,700.00 points to trade at 91,200.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Banco Davivienda Pf (BVC:DVI_p) added 1.82% or 460.00 points to end at 25,680.00 and Corporacion Financiera Colombiana (BVC:CFV_p) was up 1.74% or 300.00 points to 17,500.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Cementos Argos SA (BVC:CCB), which fell 1.29% or 140.00 points to trade at 10,680.00 at the close. Celsia SA (BVC:CEL) declined 1.01% or 50.00 points to end at 4,900.00 and Mineros SA (BVC:MAS) was down 0.89% or 140.00 points to 15,520.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Colombia Stock Exchange by 1 to 0.

US coffee C for March delivery was up 0.30% or 1.05 to $351.30 . Elsewhere in commodities trading, US cocoa for delivery in March rose 5.07% or 302.00 to hit $6,255.00 , while the February Gold Futures contract fell 4.39% or 200.05 to trade at $4,352.65 a troy ounce.

USD/COP was up 0.92% to 3,731.15, while BRL/COP rose 0.40% to 669.56.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.01% at 97.71.

Investing.com – Russia stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Mining, Oil & Gas and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index lost 0.55%.

The best performers of the session on the MOEX Russia Index were Novolipetsk Steel (MCX:NLMK), which rose 1.09% or 1.16 points to trade at 107.10 at the close. Meanwhile, Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat PAO (MCX:MAGN) added 0.82% or 0.24 points to end at 28.79 and T Tekhnologii MKPAO (MCX:T) was up 0.82% or 26.60 points to 3,274.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were AK ALROSA PJSC (MCX:ALRS), which fell 3.35% or 1.44 points to trade at 41.56 at the close. Moskovskiy Kreditnyi Bank PAO (MCX:CBOM) declined 2.86% or 0.18 points to end at 6.16 and Federal Hydro Generating Company RusHydro PJSC (MCX:HYDR) was down 2.35% or 0.01 points to 0.42.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 161 to 78 and 12 ended unchanged.

The Russian Volatility Index – RVI, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, was down 3.16% to 25.40 a new 52-week low.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 4.38% or 199.55 to $4,353.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February rose 1.89% or 1.07 to hit $57.81 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 1.63% or 0.98 to trade at $61.22 a barrel.

USD/RUB was up 1.23% to 78.50, while EUR/RUB rose 1.33% to 92.50.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 97.72.

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 fell Monday as tech took a breather after a strong run-up toward the end of the year.

"There are signs of profit taking in certain momentum corners of the market," Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli said in the morning note.

At 3:07 p.m. ET (20:07 GMT), the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.5%, the Dow Jones 0.3%, or 161 points.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell more than 1% leading AI-linked stocks lower as investors scaled back bets on tech into the end of the year, with Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR) and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) also lower. 

Tech has led the broader market higher this year, helping the S&P 500 hit a record high as recent as Friday. Trading volumes were expected, however, to remain thin, with many market participants away from their desks ahead of the New Year holidays, limiting directional moves.Wall Street ended last week on a strong note.

Sentiment has also been supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its tightening cycle, with markets continuing to price in interest rate cuts next year. Softer inflation data in recent weeks has reinforced bets that the central bank could begin easing policy in 2026, providing a tailwind for risk assets.

The late-December rally has kept attention on the so-called “Santa Claus rally,” a seasonal pattern referring to gains typically seen in the final five trading sessions of the year and the first two sessions of January.

(Ayushman Ojha contributed to this report.)