Stocks closed lower on Friday as investors awaiting a concrete trade deal took some money off the table after a strong month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 112.59 points, or 0.4%, to 28,051.41. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% to 3,140.98 while the Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 0.5% to 8,665.47. Friday's session ended at 1 p.m. after the market was closed Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The major averages posted strong monthly gains despite Friday's losses. The S&P 500 climbed 3.4% to notch its biggest one-month gain since June, when it rallied more than 6%. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite gained 3.7% and 4.5%, respectively, for November. They also had their best month since June. For the week, the Dow gained 0.6% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq advanced 1% and 1.7%, respectively.

"Short term, we might see a little consolidation" said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares. "When we have gains coming into December, there's some tax-loss harvesting and repositioning."

"There's probably some room for profit-taking, but that doesn't change our long-term view that the pain trade is a further melt-up," he added.

Stocks were on fire this month in large part because of optimism around the U.S.-China trade negotiations. Back in October, President Donald Trump said the two sides had reached a "phase one" trade deal to be signed this month.

But that optimism has taken some hits recently, particularly this week after Trump signed two pieces of legislation supporting protesters in Hong Kong. China's foreign ministry claimed the U.S. has "sinister intentions" after Trump signed the bills into law. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry added Friday the country will take "strong counter-measures" against the U.S.

Investors fear this could strain trade negotiations between the two countries ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline for a fresh round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

"China has been vocal about their discontent for the signing of the Bill," said Gregory Faranello, head of rates trading at AmeriVet Securities, in a note. "All eyes now continue to focus on progress on trade (Phase 1) and potential retaliation from China on the President's actions."