Stocks on Wall Street were shaky in Monday morning's trading, kicking off a week shortened by the holiday season. The S&P 500 saw a slight dip of 0.1%. However, a few tech companies managed to soften the blow of widespread losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 222 points, or 0.5%, as of 9:55am Eastern time. Meanwhile, the tech-centric Nasdaq composite climbed by 0.3%.
Semiconductor titan Nvidia, whose massive valuation significantly impacts indexes, saw a rise of 1.5%. Broadcom also leapt 3.9%, lending further support to the broader market. Japanese car manufacturers Honda Motor and Nissan announced discussions about a potential merger, which could also involve Mitsubishi Motors.
In Tokyo, Honda shares increased by 3.8% and Nissan's by 1.6%. Eli Lilly saw a 1.3% rise after revealing that regulators had approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Treasury yields remained stable in the bond market, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury rising to 4.55% from 4.53% late Friday. Markets will shut early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and stay closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
