Stocks close mostly lower on Wall Street, adding to recent losses

Stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday, adding to the market’s recent losses as Wall Street counts down its final days of a painful year for investors.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite finished 1.4% lower. Both indexes were coming off their third straight weekly loss. The Dow Jones industrial average eked out a 0.1% gain.

Trading was mostly muted as U.S. markets reopened after the long holiday weekend. Markets in Asia and Europe mostly rose after China said it will drop nearly all COVID-19 travel restrictions next month.

The move could ease some supply chain challenges for companies that source goods from China, but it could also lead to more spending by consumers there, which could fuel inflation, said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

“Reopening seems to rekindle some inflationary concerns, where the Chinese consumer is kind of let back out and goes back to consuming,” Hainlin said. “Maybe that’s adding to the inflation price pressures.”

The S&P 500 fell 15.57 points to 3,829.25. The Nasdaq dropped 144.64 points to 10,353.23. The Dow rose 37.63 points to 33,241.56.

Technology and communication services companies accounted for a big share of the decliners in the S&P 500. Apple fell 1.4% and Netflix lost 3.7%.

Airlines stocks fell broadly. A massive winter storm caused widespread delays and forced several carriers to cancel flights over the weekend. Delta Air Lines closed 0.8% lower, American Airlines dropped 1.4% and JetBlue fell 1.1%.

Southwest Airlines slid 6% after the company had to cancel roughly two-thirds of its flights over the last couple of days, which it blamed on problems related to staffing and weather. The federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged so far behind other carriers.

Tesla fell 11.4% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks. The electric vehicle maker temporarily suspended production at a factory in Shanghai, according to published reports.

Energy stocks were the biggest gainers among S&P 500 companies. Hess added 1.2%.

Small company stocks also lost ground. The Russell 2000 index dropped 11.42 points, or 0.7%, to 1,749.52.

Treasury yields mostly rose as the U.S. bond market reopened. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.85% from 3.75% late Friday.

Trading on Wall Street is expected to be relatively light this holiday-shortened week as investors look ahead to 2023 after a dismal year for stocks.

Uncertainty about how far the Federal Reserve and other central banks will go to fight the highest inflation in decades has kept investors on edge. The Fed raised its key interest rate seven times this year and has signaled more increases to come in 2023, even though the pace of price increases has been easing.

The high rates, which weigh heavily on prices for stocks and other investments, have fueled concerns that the economy could slow too much and slip into a recession next year.

The benchmark S&P 500 index set an all-time high at the beginning of January, but is now down nearly 20% for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down nearly 34%.

Elsewhere around the world, shares mostly rose Tuesday after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business.

China’s National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan. 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights.

But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world’s No. 2 economy.

“With economic activity floundering, and multinationals questioning the viability of China as a sourcing location, policymakers have — as so many times in the past — adopted a very business-like approach,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Companies welcomed the move as an important step toward reviving slumping business activity.

China has joined other countries in treating cases instead of trying to stamp out infections. It has dropped or eased rules on testing, quarantines and movement, trying to reverse an economic slump. But the shift has flooded hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients, and authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Shanghai composite index jumped 1% to 3,096.57. Hong Kong’s markets were closed for a holiday, as were those in Australia.

Markets in the U.S. and Europe were closed Monday for holidays.