US stocks trade slightly lower as investors await slew of economic data

• US stocks traded slightly lower on Monday as investors shifted their focus away from earnings and towards macro data.
• The Fed's preferred measure of inflation will be released later this week, as will revised fourth-quarter GDP data.
• Investors will also be paying attention to comments from Fed Presidents, looking for any clues about interest rate cuts.

US stocks traded slightly lower on Monday as investors shifted their focus to a slate of macroeconomic data points on the horizon this week.

With 90% of S&P 500 companies having reported fourth-quarter results, the results have impressed investors. So far, 78% of companies beat profit estimates by a median of 7%, while 65% of companies beat revenue estimates by a median of 5%, according to data from Fundstrat.

Now, as the earnings tide rolls out, investors are looking forward to a week full of fresh economic data. 

On the radar this week is revised fourth-quarter GDP data, set to be released Wednesday morning. Set to roll out on Thursday is Personal Consumption Expenditures data, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. 

Finally, investors will be paying attention to comments from five Fed Presidents later in the week, listening for any clues about when the Fed might cut interest rates.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday: 

• S&P 500: 5,069.53, down 0.38% 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,069.23, down 0.16% (-62.30 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,976.25, down 0.13% 

Here's what else happened today: 

• Berkshire Hathaway reported its fourth-quarter earnings results over the weekend, and the conglomerate now holds a record $168 billion in cash.
• Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett called out stock market gamblers and honored the late Charlie Munger in his annual letter.
• America's shrinking birthrate poses a long-term challenge that could weigh on the economy for the next decade or more. 
• Distress levels in an important corner of the commercial real estate debt market have rocketed 440% higher in the last year. 
• Bitcoin jumped 3% on Monday and broke above a key technical level, suggesting another 22% upside from here, according to Fairlead Strategies.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 1.65% to $77.75 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 1.30% to $82.68 a barrel. 
• Gold declined by 0.32% to $2,042.80 per ounce. 
• The 10-year Treasury yield  rose 3 basis points to 4.28%.
• Bitcoin jumped 5.43% to $54,537.