Stocks are skipping the ‘Santa Claus rally’ again this year. That doesn’t bode well for January. The Fed has two bad options in 2025: accept higher inflation or risk a recession. Natural-gas prices see biggest jump in nearly 3 years, leading oil higher.

U.S. stocks closed broadly lower Monday as a banner year on Wall Street looked set to finish on a sour note. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.1%, its third straight decline. Roughly 90% of stocks in the index lost ground.