NEW YORK -- Mounting signs of weakness in the global economy knocked the stock market lower Monday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 14.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,053.44. The losses were widespread: General Electric and other industrial companies led eight of the 10 sectors in the index down.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,776.80, while the Nasdaq composite fell 64.28 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,727.35.
It was a weak start to what has been the stock market's best month on average. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has ended December with a typical gain of 1.7 percent, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. But after a strong 11 percent run this year, the market looks relatively expensive. The S&P 500 index trades at 17.6 times its profits over the past 12 months, well above the long-term average.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said more reports of slow economic growth around the world and falling oil prices could drive the market down in the coming weeks. But he thinks any setback will likely prove temporary. "Maybe the weakness in the global economy will take some of the starch out of our economy," he said. "It probably will, just not so much that it really hurts corporate earnings."
New reports of slowing manufacturing in China as well as in the three largest economies that use the European currency -- Germany, France and Italy -- gave investors little reason to cheer.
A survey by HSBC showed Chinese manufacturing activity lost steam in November, adding to signs of an economic slowdown. HSBC said its purchasing managers' index edged down to 50 from 50.4 the previous month. On the index's 100-point scale, numbers below 50 indicate contraction. China's economic growth slowed to a five-year low of 7.3 percent in the latest quarter.
"The November PMIs confirm that growth in China's industry remains under downward pressure," Louis Kuijs of Royal Bank of Scotland wrote in a report to investors.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 2.6 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent. Japan's benchmark stock index, Nikkei 225, added 0.8 percent.
Major stock markets in Europe closed with slight losses. Germany's DAX sank 0.2 percent, and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 1 percent. Russia's RTS index lost 1.6 percent.
The National Retail Federation said spending over the Thanksgiving weekend fell from last year, based on a survey of a sample of shoppers.
Retail sales numbers for November won't be available for another month, but shares of major retailers slumped in response to the report. Macy's shares fell $1.72, or 3 percent, to $63.19, and Target fell $1.25, or 2 percent, to $72.75. Best Buy lost $2.15, or 6 percent, to drop to $37.26.
Precious metals surged. Gold jumped $42.60 to settle at $1,218.10 an ounce, while silver surged $1.14 to $16.69 an ounce. Copper rose 5 cents to $2.90 a pound.
Oil posted its biggest percentage gain in more than two years, stemming a rout that had knocked about $40 off the price of a barrel of crude since June. Benchmark U.S. crude jumped $2.85, or 4 percent, to close at $69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Information for this article was contributed by Joe McDonald of The Associated Press.
Business on 12/02/2014