The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Wall Street's main indexes ended lower on Monday, kicking off the final week of the year on a softer note, as heavyweight technology stocks retreated from last week's gains that had pushed the S&P 500 to record highs. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says Canada's main stock index also closed lower, under pressure from a significant drop in precious metals prices. The information technology sector weighed on the S&P 500, as most tech and artificial-intelligence-linked stocks declined. Nvidia slipped 1.2 per cent and Palantir dropped 2.4 per cent. The S&P 500 lost 24.20 points to 6,905.74, the Nasdaq composite lost 118.75 points to 23,474.35, and the Dow fell 249.04 points to 48,461.93. Tesla fell 3.3 per cent after hitting a record high last week, weighing on the consumer discretionary sector. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 103.17 points at 31,896.59. However, the benchmark was poised for a gain of about 2 per cent in December, marking its eighth consecutive monthly gain -- a streak not witnessed since 2014. Mining shares led Monday's losses, with the Toronto materials sector falling nearly 3 per cent. Gold prices slipped 4.6 per cent.