Investing.com – US stocks closed mixed on Monday as investors weighed signs that U.S. economy remained on track for a solid quarter of growth after new home sales rose to the highest in decade while a slump in energy stocks capped gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 23580.78. The S&P 500 closed 0.04% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6878.52, up 0.15%.
Wall Street made a strong start to the session as investors continued to pile into retail stocks, betting that strong Black Friday sales growth proved a tailwind for retailers, while telecom led the broader rally amid a surge in shares of Verizon.
Shares of Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) ended the session in positive territory. Meanwhile, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed near record highs as data from Adobe analytics showed online Black Friday sales rose nearly 17%.
Also adding to positive sentiment on stocks was a surge in new home sales for October to its highest since October 2007.
New home sales rose 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units last month, the Commerce Department said on Monday. That beat expectations of a 6% decline to an annual rate of 625,000.
A slump in energy, however, dampened risk-on sentiment as crude oil fell 1.6% on doubts over Russia’s resolve to join in extending output curbs.
The mixed close for stocks comes ahead of busy week as investors looked to a key Senate vote on a bill aimed at overhauling the U.S. tax code on Thursday amid uncertainty whether the Republican-led Congress would be able to pass tax reform before year-end.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) up 1.4%, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) up 1.1% and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) up 1.1%
DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) down 1.4%, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) down 0.8% and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) down 0.6%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.