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Indexes down: Dow 0.14%, S&P 500 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.61%

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DigitalBridge ( DBRG/PJ ) soars on SoftBank's $4 bln acquisition deal

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Gold, silver miners fall as precious metal rally stalls

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Three main U.S. stock indexes set for double-digit yearly

gains

(Updates after markets open)

By Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes kicked off

the final week of the year on a lower note on Monday, as

heavyweight technology stocks gave up some ground ‌from last

week's gains which had pushed the S&P 500 to new highs.

The benchmark S&P 500 was in the 1% range of the

7,000-point mark, and the blue-chip ​Dow hit a record

closing high last week. Some investors were hoping for a "Santa

Claus rally", a seasonal phenomenon where the ‍S&P 500 typically

posts gains in the last five trading days of the year ⁠and the

first two in January, ⁠according to Stock Trader's Almanac.

All three indexes are headed for firm monthly gains, with

the Dow and S&P 500 on pace for their eighth consecutive month

in ‌the green, as technology stocks found footing after an upbeat

forecast ​from chipmaker Micron Technology ( MU ) earlier in the

month.

The bull market, which began in October 2022, stayed intact

despite concerns over high valuations of technology companies

and market volatility, on the back of continued optimism around

AI, ⁠interest-rate cuts and a resilient economy. All three main

indexes ‍are set for ​their third consecutive yearly gain.

At 09:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 66.86 points, or 0.14%, to 48,645.62, the S&P 500

lost 22.08 points, or 0.32%, to 6,907.86 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 142.90 points, ‍or 0.61%, to 23,450.20.

Six of the 11 S&P sectors, however, were trading higher,

with energy up 0.7% as crude oil prices rose.

Information technology dropped 0.7%, as most tech

and AI-linked stocks fell, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) down 1.6%.

Tesla also fell 2.2% after hitting a record high

last week.

Materials slipped 0.7%, with precious metal miners

sliding as silver dropped sharply after topping $80 per

ounce for the first time, while gold also fell after

back-to-back record highs last week.

On the macro front, minutes from the Fed's ​previous meeting

and ‍a weekly reading of jobless claims will be on the radar in

an otherwise data-light week.

"Given this week's light economic calendar, internal

momentum could be the main market storyline this week. If stocks

are going to close ​out another year of double-digit gains on a

high note, they'll likely need tech to do much of the heavy

lifting," said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and

investing at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.

The S&P 500 has added about 17% so far this year, as the

frenzy to capitalize on artificial intelligence helped the U.S.

benchmark overtake Europe's STOXX 600, despite

investors diversifying away from U.S. stocks earlier in the

year.

DigitalBridge ( DBRG/PJ ) gained 9.8% after Japan's SoftBank

Group was set to acquire the digital infrastructure

investor in deal valued at $4 billion, the companies said.

Trading volumes ​are expected to be light in the

holiday-affected week with U.S. markets shut on Thursday for New

Year's Day.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.22-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.67-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite ‍recorded 7 new highs and 81 new lows.