Investing.com - U.S. stocks came off earlier lows on Monday after expectations that data due for release later this week will be positive offset bearish pressures from Hong Kong unrest and a soft housing report.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.25%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.14%.
The Volatility S&P 500 index, which measures the outlook for market volatility, was up 7.61% at 15.98.
Events in Hong Kong sent stock prices falling earlier.
Pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong are angry at China's move to vet all candidates running in the city's elections for chief executive in 2017.
Fears the protests will exacerbate existing geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and in the Middle East punished stock prices earlier, though expectations began to arise that the protests will have only short-term effects on markets, which brought share prices off earlier lows.
Elsewhere, the National Association of Realtors reported earlier that its pending home sales index fell 1.0% to 104.7 in August from 105.8 in July. Economists had expected the index to tick down 0.1% last month.
Separately, the Commerce Department said that U.S. personal spending rose 0.5% in August, beating expectations for an increase of 0.4%, after a 0.1% dip in July.
The report also showed that personal income, reflecting income from wages, investment, and government aid, rose 0.3%, up from 0.2% in July, broadly in line with forecasts.
Later in the session, investors focused down the road, when a flurry of U.S. data will hit the wire.
The U.S. is to publish data on business activity in the Chicago region and a report on consumer confidence on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release the ADP report on private sector job creation, which leads the government’s nonfarm payrolls report by two days.
The Institute of Supply Management is to release a report on manufacturing activity this week, and expectations that some of the data will be positive brought stocks back from session lows.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), up 1.88%, McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), up 1.61%, and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), up 0.50%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), down 1.04%, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), down 0.80%, and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), down 0.76%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day lower.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.98%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.83%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.71%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.04%.