U.S. stocks closed lower Monday, the last day of trade for November, as investors kept an eye on retail results. In U.S. economic news, the pending home sales figure for October from the National Association of Realtors rose by just 0.2 percent, ending two straight months of declines but far below expectations for a 1.0 percent rebound. In international economic news, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed it will include China's yuan, or renminbi, in an exclusive group of currencies that make up the basket of the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The change, which was widely expected, is set to take effect next October. The dollar held steady against other major currencies. Light sweet crude oil for January delivery fell 6 cents to $41.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures added $9.60 to $1,065.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 25, or 0.15 percent, to 17,771. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 4, or 0.18 percent, to 2,086. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index declined 11, or 0.21 percent, to 5,116.
