Stock market today: Gains for oil-and-gas stocks and drops for Big Tech leave Wall Street mixed

NEW YORK — Drops for Nvidia and other Big Tech companies were offset by gains in health care, energy and other sectors, leaving U.S. stock indexes mixed. The S&P 500 wound up with a gain of 0.2% after spending most of the day lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%, and weakness for tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite down 0.4%. Treasury yields rose ahead of updates coming later in the week on inflation. The bond market has been driving much of Wall Street's action recently as hopes dim for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are split on Monday as drops for Nvidia and other Big Tech companies work against gains for oil-and-gas producers.

The S&P 500 was virtually flat in late trading after erasing an earlier fall of 0.9%. The weakness for Big Tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite to a loss of 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 315 points, or 0.8%, with less than an hour remaining in trading.

Stocks have been under pressure the last month, and the S&P 500 is coming off its fourth losing week in the last five as traders cull expectations for how much relief the Federal Reserve may deliver this year through lower interest rates.

Such cuts would give the economy a boost, and the U.S. stock market ran to repeated records last year on the assumption that more are coming after the Fed began lowering rates in September. But inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed's 2% target, and recent reports have suggested a still-solid U.S. economy doesn't need much help. Questions are growing whether the Fed will deliver even a single cut in 2025.

High rates put downward pressure on prices for all kinds of investments, and those seen as expensive can feel the stiffest punches. Nvidia fell 2.8% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500, though that represents just a smidgen of its huge gains made in recent years. The chip company's stock had nearly quintupled over the last three years amid the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.

It felt pressure as President Joe Biden proposes a new framework for the exporting of the advanced computer chips used to develop AI. That's despite warnings from the industry that a hastily implemented new rule could fragment global supply chains and hurt U.S. companies.

Apple's 1.4% drop and Meta Platforms' fall of 1.6% were also among the heaviest weights on the market. Because they're two of the largest companies on Wall Street, their moves pack more punch on the S&P 500 than other stocks.

Moderna tumbled 19.2% for the largest loss in the S&P 500 after giving a forecast for revenue this upcoming year that fell short of analysts' expectations. The vaccine maker, which is seeing a slowdown in COVID-related sales, is accelerating a cost-cutting program to reduce expenses in research and development and other areas.

Macy's fell 8.1% after saying it will likely report revenue for the last three months of 2024 that's at or slightly below the low end of the $7.8 to $8 billion forecasted range it earlier gave.

Edison International fell another 11.6% as wildfires continue to burn in the service territory of its Southern California Edison utility. The utility has said fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment was involved in the ignition of the Hurst fire.

On the winning side of Wall Street were oil-and-gas companies after the price of oil climbed. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.9% to $78.82, while Brent crude climbed 1.6% to $81.01. The Biden administration said Friday it's expanding sanctions against Russia's energy industry.

Exxon Mobil gained 2.4%, and Valero Energy jumped 4.8%.

Shares of U.S. Steel rose 6.4% after the Biden administration pushed back to June the deadline it imposed for the Pittsburgh-based company to unwind its proposed acquisition by Japan's Nippon Steel.

Intra-Cellular Therapies soared 34.2% after Johnson & Johnson said it would buy the biopharmaceutical company and its treatment for bipolar I and II depression for $132 per share in cash. Johnson & Johnson rose 1.8%.

In the bond market, which has been dictating much of Wall Street's action lately, Treasury yields were ticking higher still.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.78% from 4.76% late Friday. It's been climbing relentlessly over the last month, and it was below 3.65% just in September.

The strong reports on the U.S. economy have helped push yields higher. So have worries that tariffs and other policies possibly coming from President-elect Donald Trump will boost inflation along with economic growth.

A report coming on Wednesday could offer the next spark for the bond market. That's when the government will deliver the latest monthly update on inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated a touch to 2.8% in December from 2.7% in November.

''Rates remain the most important variable for equity market direction,'' according to Michael Wilson and other strategists at Morgan Stanley.

Outside of the inflation data and its effect on interest rates, this upcoming week will also feature earnings reports from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks. They're helping to kick off the start of earnings reporting season.

If Treasury yields continue to rise, either stock prices need to fall or companies need to produce bigger profit growth to make up for it.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mostly lower across Europe and Asia.

Stocks fell 1% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai, even though China reported its exports grew at a faster pace in December than expected. Factories were rushing to fill orders to beat higher tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose once he takes office.

___

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.