Wall Street opens lower without "cliff" solution

Stocks opened lower on Monday, the last trading day of the year, as political leaders in Washington worked to find agreement that would keep the United States from falling off the "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 51.99 points, or 0.40 percent, at 12,886.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 4.09 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,398.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 5.20 points, or 0.18 percent, at 2,955.11.

Major indexes are on track for their sixth straight day of losses, though the S&P 500 remains up more than 11 percent for the year.