Stock market today: Wall Street ticks down early ahead of spending, inflation reports

Wall Street retreated modestly as investors look ahead to updates on consumer spending and inflation in the U.S. and other nations. Futures for the Dow and the S&P 500 each ticked down less than 0.2% before the bell Monday. Markets were mostly quiet coming off a holiday shortened week, the fourth straight winning week for Wall Street. Traders have recently grown cautiously optimistic that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to finally be done with its market-crunching hikes to interest rates. The government on Thursday releases its October report for a key inflation measure tracked by the central bank.