NEW YORK - US stocks ended lower on Monday as doubts over potential interest rate cuts persisted and investors braced for high-stakes Nvidia earnings and a delayed September jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 557.24 points, or 1.18 percent, to 46,590.24. The S&P 500 sank 61.70 points, or 0.92 percent, to 6,672.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 192.51 points, or 0.84 percent, to 22,708.07.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with financials and energy leading the laggards by dropping 1.93 percent and 1.88 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and utilities led the gainers by adding 1.13 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively.
Rate cut expectations have continued to cool, with markets now assigning roughly a 42.9 percent chance that the Federal Reserve will lower its benchmark rate by a quarter point at its December meeting, down sharply from the more than 90 percent probability priced in a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Tech giant Alphabet jumped more than 3 percent after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new stake in the Google and YouTube parent company. The move reassured investors that Berkshire still sees value in a major AI player after a strong run this year.
In contrast, AI chip leader Nvidia slipped 1.88 percent ahead of its third-quarter results due after the bell Wednesday.
"It'll be, on one hand, important for Nvidia to confirm that demand is still there, that they're not seeing a slowdown," said Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield to CNBC. "But unless they take it a step further, I think it's only going to leave the second question more open-ended, which is, 'We know there's demand for compute, what is the return on investment for the firms that are buying all of these chips?'"
Walmart is set to report earnings Thursday morning, offering a fresh look at consumer spending trends and whether households are becoming more stretched heading into the holiday season.
Also on Thursday this week, the September nonfarm payrolls report will be released, which will be the first major data point since the US government shutdown triggered an extended data blackout.
