Wall Street kicked off the new trading week on a sour note Monday, with all four major indices closing in the red. The S&P 500 slipped 0.47% to 7,734.43, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a similar 0.49% to settle at 53,082.46. The Nasdaq Composite held up comparatively better, shedding just 0.16% to land at 26,494.28, while the small-cap Russell 2000 dropped 0.34% to 3,028.44.
The session's tone was distinctly defensive. Investors appeared unwilling to add risk heading into the week, with broad-based selling touching most sectors. Gold continued to assert its safe-haven status, with the precious metal quoted at $4,427.95 — a level that underscores the persistent unease running beneath the surface of equity markets.
Meta Platforms was the standout decliner among large caps, tumbling 3.54% to $568.97 and dragging sentiment across the communication services space. The magnitude of Meta's drop was notable enough to weigh on the Nasdaq even as that index outperformed its peers on a relative basis.
Apple provided the session's thin silver lining, edging up 0.11% to $305.59 — a modest gain that nonetheless made it the top performer among mega-cap names. With markets broadly under pressure, Tuesday's open will be closely watched to see whether buyers step in or the selling deepens.