By Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch , Chris Matthews

Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested and will be fired, says the automobile maker, citing 'misconduct'

U.S. stock indexes staged a modest retreat at the start of trade Monday, during a week that will be abbreviated by the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, with domestic markets set to be closed in one of the lowest-volume periods of the year.

How are benchmarks performing?

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 47 points, or 0.2%, at 25,369, the S&P 500 index retreated 5.4 points, or 0.2%, at 2,731, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 37 points at 7,209, a decline of 0.5%.

Last week, the Dow posted a weekly decline of 2.2%, the S&P 500 index declined by 1.6%, while Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.2%.

What's driving the market?

Wall Street investors remain focused on U.S.-China trade tensions ahead of a meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping set to take place in Buenos Aires later this month.

Meanwhile, investors are also keying in on other political narratives, including Brexit and the Italian budget crisis, which could contribute to bouts of market volatility. Prime Minister Theresa May is slated to take her plan to take the U.K. out of the European Union to Brussels after seemingly avoiding a leadership challenge -- at least for now.

Italian and EU officials remain in a protracted deadlock over the Italian government's budget plans, which Brussels said run afoul of the bloc's rules, setting up a clash between the two that could prove disruptive to markets.

Rising interest rates continue to be of concern for investors, as market participants seek to divine the pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes in 2019 after next month's meeting, where the FOMC is widely expected to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. A speech Monday by New York Fed chief John C. Williams will be watched by investors for any clues as to the thinking of the Fed's monetary-policy committee.

What are strategists saying?

"This week, we'll get a lot of new information about the housing market, which is one of the market's biggest concerns, given its contribution to GDP growth," Ryan Nauman, market strategist with Informa Financial Intelligence, told MarketWatch.

Nauman also said investors will be paying close attention to New York Fed President John William's public appearances later today. "That could really move markets," especially if he indicates that the Fed will aggressively raise rates next year. "Investors will be digging deep and reading between the lines of his words," Nauman said.

"The market decline that started on Sept. 20 has yet to recover fully, as the S&P 500 is still 6.6% below its all-time high," wrote Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, in a Monday research note.

"Encouragingly, the Oct. 29 intraday low for this decline remains above the low resulting from the selloff endured earlier in the year," he said. "History reminds us that [year-to-date] declines are common and are typically followed by full-year recoveries."

Which stocks were in focus?

Netflix Inc.'s(NFLX)stock chart is set to face a bearish death cross at the open (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflixs-first-bearish-death-cross-chart-pattern-to-appear-in-2-years-at-the-open-2018-11-19), as the 50-day moving average for the first time since October 2016 falls beneath the 200-day.

Sonos Inc. sharesare on the rise as the company teases a new roster of its audio products (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sonos-offers-teaser-for-new-line-of-products-as-shares-rocket-10-2018-11-16).

Nissan Motor Co.(NSANY)(NSANY)Chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested Monday in Tokyo, Japanese media reported, and Nissan said it intended to oust Ghosn from his post after uncovering "significant acts" of financial misconduct. Shares of renault, part of the Renault-Nissan alliance, fell sharply in France (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-trade-cautiously-higher-renaults-stock-falls-on-ghosn-report-2018-11-19).

Apple Inc.'s shares(AAPL)were in focus after the Wall Street Journal reported that the iPhone maker's production woes are slamming suppliers. Last week, major iPhone suppliers including Qorvo Inc.(QRVO) , Lumentum Holdings Inc.(LITE)and Japan Display Inc.(6740.TO) lowered financial outlooks.

Climarex Energy Co. shares are down more than 6% Monday, after the company announced (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/resolute-energys-stock-set-to-surge-after-16-billion-buyout-deal-with-cimarex-energy-2018-11-19) it would acquire Resolute Energy Co.(REN)in a deal valued at $1.6 billion. Resolute shares are up more than 8.7%.

Shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.(SPB)are down nearly 17% Monday, after reporting a fourth-fiscal-quarter earnings and sales that missed their targets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/spectrum-brands-missed-earnings-and-revenue-expectations-provides-downbeat-outlook-2018-11-19), combined with a downbeat 2019 outlook.

JD.com's stock(JD)is down 2.6% early Monday, after the Chinese retailer reported a third-quarter revenue miss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jdcoms-earnings-lifted-by-investment-gains-2018-11-19) Monday morning.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. shares(TTWO) were rising 0.3% at the start of trade Wedesday, after a report in the New York Post suggesting that it could be part of a three-way merger, along with CBS Corp.(CBSA)and Viacom Inc.(VIA) .

What data are ahead

A November reading of home builders is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and FOMC member John C. Williams will give a speech and participate in a moderated Q&A session Monday in New York, at 10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, respectively.

How are other markets trading?

Stocks in Asia ended the trading day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-quiet-as-us-china-trade-tensions-linger-2018-11-18) broadly higher, with the Nikkei , Hang Sengand Shanghai Composite Indexall advancing.

In Europe, stocks were also rising Monday, with the FTSE 100up 0.4% and the Stoxx Europe 600up 0.1%.

Crude oil continued its recent weakness, down 1.2% on Monday morning, with gold down 0.2%, and the U.S. dollar down 0.1%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2018 09:46 ET (14:46 GMT)

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