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NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar was up slightly in skittish trading on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data later this week, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars rallied after China pledged an "appropriately loose" monetary policy next year. While markets have priced in a quarter-point interest-rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week as a near certainty, investors are waiting for U.S. consumer price data on Wednesday. "The move higher in unemployment that we saw in November, that really just cements the case for a 25-basis-point cut next Wednesday," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

Alibaba's U.S.-traded shares soared Monday after Chinese authorities announced plans to expand stimulus spending next year and co-founder Jack Ma highlighted the company's potential to benefit from AI. Alibaba affiliate Ant Group also named a new CEO.

Chinese stocks rallied on Monday after Beijing pledged a "moderately loose" monetary policy stance for the first time in over a decade.

A Comcast executive warned that the conglomerate expects to lose 100,000 broadband subscribers in the fourth quarter.

Citigroup's revision came after data on Friday showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 227,000 jobs last month, following an upward revision to 36,000 jobs in October. U.S. job growth surged in November after being severely hindered by hurricanes and strikes, but a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.2% pointed to an easing labor market that indicated the Fed could likely cut interest rates this month. Major brokerages including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have reiterated their expectation of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the Fed in December after the jobs data.

Food giant Mondelez is once again exploring an acquisition of chocolate maker Hershey, according to Bloomberg.

Costco Wholesale is scheduled to report earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 after the market closes, with analysts expecting the retailer to report rising revenue and profits.