U.S. stocks finish lower, extending last week’s losses

U.S. stocks ended down Monday, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling sharply, deepening last week’s losses as concerns over an economic slowdown persisted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.49%
closed 0.5% lower, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.90%
dropped 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-1.49%
sank 1.5%, according to preliminary data from FactSet. All three major benchmarks fell last week amid recession fears, booking back-to-back weekly declines for the first time since September. On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders said its monthly confidence index fell in December for a 12th straight month, dragged down by high mortgage rates and inflation.