Stocks Post Modest Monthly Gains

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Monday, but the main indexes eked out small monthly gains, as investors braced for policy news from central banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 78.57 points, or 0.44%, to 17,719.92 and gained 0.3% over the month. The S&P 500 shed 9.70 points, or 0.46%, to 2,080.41 and eked out a less than 0.1% gain over the month. The Nasdaq Composite was down 18.86 points, or 0.37%, to 5,108.67 and posted a 1.1% gain over the past month.

The Chicago PMI, or business barometer, decreased 7.5 points to 48.7 in November from 56.2 in October, MNI Indicators said Monday. A sharp 15.3 point-fall in new orders dragged the headline index below the 50 line dividing expansion and contraction.

U.S. online sales grew 14 percent on Cyber Monday, on track to set a record, leading some retail websites, like Target Corp’s, to crash temporarily due to high customer traffic.

There’s broad agreement that climate change can cause stormier weather, rising sea levels and more flooding in coastal areas. But economists are beginning to think a warming planet can also cause job losses, recessions and even a tumbling stock market.