U.S. stocks drifted lower Monday ahead of a momentous week full of potential flashpoints in Washington, D.C., and around the world. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, though it remains near its record set last month.

Amazon led U.S. stock indexes higher, while a surprisingly weak jobs report marred by some unusual occurrences cemented bets on Wall Street for another cut to interest rates next week.

U.S. stocks are drifting ahead of a momentous week full of potential flashpoints, but other markets are already moving more sharply, including a jump for oil prices and drops for Treasury yields

Wall Street has a poor track record when it comes to forecasting the future performance of the stock market. Since 2020, there has been a 17-percentage-point discrepancy between analysts' median year-end forecast for the S&P 500 and where the index actually finished each year, according to Goldman Sachs.

Drops for Big Tech companies including Microsoft and Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms led Wall Street lower

Wall Street is muddling through a mixed morning of trading as drops for homebuilders and Ford Motor offset rising tech and health care stocks.

Wall Street pointed toward gains early Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and other potentially market-rattling events this week. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each rose 0.