US close: Stocks head south on news of Chinese unrest

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.45% at 33,849.46, while the S&P 500 lost 1.54% to 3,963.94 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.58% weaker at 11,049.50.

The Dow closed 497.57 points lower on Monday, reversing gains recorded on Friday's holiday-shortened trading session.

Demonstrations across mainland China were in focus on Monday, with people lashing out against Beijing's zero-Covid policy after local governments doubled down on measures amid surging cases, even after certain policies were loosened earlier in November.

The developments saw oil futures drop to new lows for the year, before eventually reclaiming around half of their earlier losses, while shares in Apple, which has major operations in China, slipped more than 2.6% in after a report revealed that turmoil in the tech giant's key manufacturing hub of Zhengzhou would likely lead to a production shortfall of roughly 6.0m iPhone Pro units this year.

Bucking the wider trend, retailers traded higher after reports revealed that Black Friday sales had smashed an online shopping record in 2022, with consumers spending an all-time high of $9.12bn online over the holiday, according to Adobe.

On the macro front, the Dallas Federal Reserve's manufacturing index increased to -14.40 points in November, up from -19.40 points in October. Prices paid for raw materials fell sharply to 22.6 from 32 in October, supporting lower inflation for prices, while, on the other hand, the production index fell to 0.8 points from 6 in the prior month, suggesting further deceleration in output growth.

On another note, a top US central bank official predicted that inflation will recede over the course of 2023, but said the Federal Reserve would still have its work cut out for it as price growth might not yet be headed towards its 2% target. In remarks prepared for a speech, New York Federal Reserve chief, John Williams, said that "there is still more work to do". Williams said he believed that the annual rate of increase in the personal consumption expenditures price index would ease to between 5-5.5% at the end of 2022, versus 6.2% in September, and to between 3-3.5% by the end of 2023.

Elsewhere, one of the US Federal Open Market Committe's most hawkish members made the case for interest rates to remain "elevated" throughout 2023 and into 2024. In a question and answer event hosted by Marketwatch.com, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, James Bullard, said that the central bank must maintain downward pressure on inflation until it was "clear" that it was going to achieve its 2% target for inflation. He added that in the current environment it would be a "terrible" idea for the Fed to abandon the 2% target.

While Q3 earnings season is now mostly under wraps, Salesforce will report earnings on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.45 0.88%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $153.51 0.29%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $153.69 0.22%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $177.33 0.05%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.70 0.02%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $0.00 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $146.60 -0.08%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $282.62 -0.39%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.08 -0.66%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $171.83 -3.66%
3M Co. (MMM) $124.64 -3.41%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $95.69 -3.22%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $178.36 -2.91%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $50.20 -2.64%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $144.22 -2.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $241.76 -2.32%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $318.92 -2.29%
American Express Co. (AXP) $150.87 -2.13%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $28.73 -2.10%

S&P 500 - Risers

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $78.20 4.36%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $457.24 1.98%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $74.72 1.70%
Target Corp. (TGT) $165.37 1.22%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $82.09 1.06%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $45.15 0.92%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.45 0.88%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $1,527.56 0.82%
Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $79.49 0.76%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $315.30 0.74%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $20.51 -7.32%
Macerich Co (MAC) $12.39 -5.99%
VF Corp. (VFC) $32.41 -5.62%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $5.52 -5.48%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $190.79 -4.81%
Realty Income Corp. (O) $61.74 -4.80%
Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $606.09 -4.78%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.83 -4.62%
State Street Corp. (STT) $73.52 -4.59%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $55.75 -4.55%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $28.11 8.32%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $78.20 4.36%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $67.01 2.03%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $457.24 1.98%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $98.66 1.80%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $74.72 1.70%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $94.64 1.37%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $49.91 0.87%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $315.30 0.74%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $741.48 0.71%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $2.11 -7.05%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.83 -4.62%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $55.75 -4.55%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $52.31 -4.37%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $291.90 -4.34%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $176.20 -3.50%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $36.11 -3.29%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $30.46 -3.24%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $921.34 -3.18%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $119.54 -3.17%