US stocks fall to their first loss in 6 days as bitcoin tumbles

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks gave back some of last week’s rally, as bitcoin fell again on Monday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and broke a five-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 427 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.4%.

Last week’s rally was largely due to rising hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week to help shore up the slowing job market. Such hopes are still high, with traders betting on a roughly 85% chance the Fed will cut at its next meeting, according to data from CME Group.

But yields for longer-term Treasurys nevertheless rose in the bond market Monday. It was part of a worldwide climb for yields after the head of the Bank of Japan hinted at a possible hike to interest rates there.

When bonds are paying higher yields, they can attract investors who would otherwise buy stocks or cryptocurrencies. Higher yields undercut prices for all kinds of investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive.

Bitcoin, which was soaring around $125,000 in October, dropped toward $85,500. That’s down roughly 6% from a day earlier.

That in turn sent stocks lower across the crypto industry. Coinbase Global sank 4.8%, and Robinhood Markets fell 4.1%, for example.

Strategy, the company that used to be known as MicroStrategy and now raises money just to buy bitcoin, lost 3.3%. It said that it sold its stock and raised a fund of $1.44 billion in U.S. dollars, not in bitcoin, to help pay for its dividends on preferred shares and interest on its debt.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Synposys, which rose 4.9%. It said Nvidia is investing $2 billion in its stock as part of an expanded partnership. Nvidia, which has become Wall Street’s most influential stock, swung from an early loss to a gain of 1.6%.

The market, meanwhile, had a mixed reaction to what seems like a strong start for the holiday shopping season. Consumer spending during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retailing bonanza was expected to exceed expectations, despite uncertainty over the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Williams-Sonoma climbed 1.3%, but Best Buy fell 2.6%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 36.46 points to 6,812.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 427.09 to 47,289.33, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 89.76 to 23,275.92.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Asia and Europe.

France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.3%, dragged down in part by a 5.8% loss for Airbus.

The European aerospace giant said Monday that most of its fleet of 6,000 A320 passenger jets have received an update after a weekend software glitch that could have affected flight controls. Travelers faced minor disruptions as airlines scrambled to push the software updates out after Airbus warned of the problem Friday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.9% on worries about the possibility of higher interest rates. Japan’s benchmark interest rate has remained near zero for years in hopes of juicing the economy. Now inflation is holding above the Bank of Japan’s target of about 2%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.09% from 4.02% Friday.

It briefly slowed its ascent in the morning after a report showed activity for U.S. manufacturers shrank by more last month than economists expected.

Jobs are under pressure at manufacturers, and the majority in a survey by the Institute for Supply Management said they’re still focused more on managing headcount than on hiring. Several manufacturers also said tariffs are continuing to make things complicated.

“Conditions are more trying than during the coronavirus pandemic in terms of supply chain uncertainty,” one manufacturer told the ISM.

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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.