Stocks begin the end with dip

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks opened the year's final trading session lower Monday, as investors braced for a key report on the housing market.

The Dow Jones industrial average. The Nasdaq composite index. The Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Trading is expected to be thin as investors count down to the start of 2008. Bond markets will close early, at 2 p.m. ET.

Investors will look to a report on November existing home sales for direction. Last month's figure - an annual rate of 4.97 million - was the lowest on record amid ongoing trouble in the mortgage sector. Economists are looking for annual growth of 5 million units this month, according to Briefing.com. The report from the National Association of Realtors is due out at 10 a.m. ET.

Despite recent turbulence, U.S. stocks look set to finish the year higher. Year-to-date, the Dow is up about 7 percent, the S&P 500 is up about 4 percent, and the Nasdaq is up nearly 11 percent.

In corporate news, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. is paying $684 million for a 35 percent stake in Delta Petroleum (DPTR), an independent energy exploration company.

Among tech stocks to watch, Chinese search engine Baidu.com (BIDU) said its chief financial officer died in an accident while on holiday in China.

The Semiconductor Industry Association also said November chip sales rose 2.3 amid steep cost cutting, and annual sales may fall short of previous predictions. The news could move the stocks of semiconductor companies like Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Fortune 500).

In global trade, most Asian markets finished the year with strong gains. Many exchanges posted gains of more than 20 percent in 2007, although Japan's Nikkei ended the year down 11.1 percent.

In Pakistan, stocks tumbled 5 percent Monday as markets reopened after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. European markets got off to a mixed start and will close early.

Oil rose slightly amid concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East. U.S. light crude for February delivery rose 72 cents to $96.72 barrel in electronic trading.

The dollar fell against the yen and was little changed against the euro.