Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, amid mixed economic data while weaker than expected auto sales data weighed on sentiment.
The main three U.S. indexes threatened to creep into positive territory towards the end of the session but ultimately closed lower, weighed by a slowdown in March construction spending while economic activity in the manufacturing sector slowed less than expected.
The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) hit 57.2 in March, a 0.5% decrease from the February reading of 57.7 but slightly above economists’ forecasts of 57.0.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said, February U.S. construction spending increased 0.8% to its highest level in more than ten years but it missed analysts’ expectations of a 1% rise.
Weaker than expected auto sales numbers from the big three American car companies weighed on sentiment, as reports showed that Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler suffered a decline in passenger car sales.
Meanwhile, in corporate news, electric carmaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed at record highs, after the electric car manufacturer said it had delivered 25,418 cars in the first quarter of 2017, a record for the company.
Investors look ahead to a busy week that includes a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping while a nonfarm payrolls report rounds off the week.
The three main indexes posted a gain of at least 4.6% for the first quarter of this year, as investors poured into the so-called ‘Trump trade’ based on the expectation that President Donald Trump will deliver on his pro-growth economic agenda, which includes tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.06% lower at 20,650. The S&P 500 shed 0.16% and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.29% lower at 5894.68.
The top S&P 500 gainers included Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) up 3.6%, and Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) up 2.8%, while Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) added 2%.
CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) down 4.3%, O'Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY) down 4.1% and Robert Half International Inc (NYSE:RHI) slumped 4%, were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.