Stocks looked like they were going to extend Friday's impressive wins, but wound up falling lower by the close. The Dow hit its highest level since Aug. 18 this afternoon but eventually logged a 211-point loss. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also dropped lower for the session, though the latter hit its highest level since Sept. 13 during intraday trading.

It was a relatively quiet day as far as economic news and a waning earnings season, with the major indexes waffling for most of the session, though the health sector saw strong returns. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard hinted that the central bank could start slowing the clip of its interest rate hikes soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 33,536.70) shed 211.2 points or 0.6% for the day. Merck (MRK) led the Dow with a 2.4% win, while Walmart (WMT) paced the laggards with a 2.9% drop.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,957.25) lost 35.7 points, or 0.9% for the day, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC - 11,196.22) fell 127.1 points or 1.1%.

Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 23.73) added 1.2 points or 5.4% for the session.

GOLD HITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE MID-AUGUST

Oil prices gave back Friday's gains today, following news that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) trimmed its global demand forecast amid concerns over the future of China's tight Covid restrictions. December-dated crude lost $3.09, or 3.5% to trade at $85.87 per barrel.

Gold prices saw even more tailwinds as investors tucked back into the haven commodity amid increasing doubts over the U.S. economy, while the technically supportive $1,680 is acting as a landing pad for the precious metal. December-dated gold added $7.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,776.90 an ounce, marking its highest settlement since Aug. 16.

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