Investing.com - U.S. stocks closed mixed in choppy trade Monday, as concerns over a global growth slowdown and uncertainty surrounding the euro zone’s debt crisis continued to weigh on investor confidence.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.14%, the S&P 500 index eased higher 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.46%.
Official data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added just 69,000 jobs in May, far below expectations for a gain of 150,000, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2% from 8.1%.
The disappointing data fuelled speculation over the prospect for a third round of quantitative easing from the U.S. central bank.
Investor sentiment was buoyed after Portugal’s finance minister said earlier that the country's EUR78 billion bailout program was on track, but investors remained cautious amid fears that Spain’s high borrowing costs will force Madrid to seek a bailout.
Concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in China also weighed amid fading hopes for a large-scale stimulus package to boost slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Chesapeake Energy was one of the session’s top gainers, with shares rallying 3.02% after the company agreed to replace four of its current board members, while Aubrey McClendon will remain as CEO.
Other energy stocks also added to gains as Chevron added 0.11%, while Exxon Mobil saw shares rise 0.17%.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson advanced 0.28% after a trial of the company’s Zytiga showed that it doubled the amount of time certain prostate cancer patients lived without the disease getting worse.
Also in the pharmaceutical sector, an experimental Bristol-Myers Squibb drug was reported to have helped shrink tumors in patients with advanced melanoma, kidney and lung cancers in a preliminary trial, sending the company’s shares up 1.08%.
Elsewhere, U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts sharply lower, as shares in Bank of America tumbled 1.28% although Evercore earlier raised its rating on the firm to "overweight" from "equal-weight."
Citigroup plummeted 1.42% and JP Morgan dropped 0.88%, while shares in Goldman Sachs declined 0.52%.
Tech giant Hewlett-Packard was also on the downside, easing 0.05% as opening statements in the company’s lawsuit against Oracle over the Itanium chip were scheduled to begin. HP sued Oracle in a California state court for breach of contract after Oracle decided to discontinue support for the Itanium microprocessor.
In addition Monday, official data showed that U.S. factory orders unexpectedly fell 0.6% in April, declining for the second consecutive month and defying expectations for a 0.2% gain.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.50%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gave back 1.19%.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. ISM non manufacturing index, the Canadian and Australian interest rate decision, as well as German factory orders on Tuesday.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.14%, the S&P 500 index eased higher 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.46%.
Official data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added just 69,000 jobs in May, far below expectations for a gain of 150,000, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2% from 8.1%.
The disappointing data fuelled speculation over the prospect for a third round of quantitative easing from the U.S. central bank.
Investor sentiment was buoyed after Portugal’s finance minister said earlier that the country's EUR78 billion bailout program was on track, but investors remained cautious amid fears that Spain’s high borrowing costs will force Madrid to seek a bailout.
Concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in China also weighed amid fading hopes for a large-scale stimulus package to boost slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Chesapeake Energy was one of the session’s top gainers, with shares rallying 3.02% after the company agreed to replace four of its current board members, while Aubrey McClendon will remain as CEO.
Other energy stocks also added to gains as Chevron added 0.11%, while Exxon Mobil saw shares rise 0.17%.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson advanced 0.28% after a trial of the company’s Zytiga showed that it doubled the amount of time certain prostate cancer patients lived without the disease getting worse.
Also in the pharmaceutical sector, an experimental Bristol-Myers Squibb drug was reported to have helped shrink tumors in patients with advanced melanoma, kidney and lung cancers in a preliminary trial, sending the company’s shares up 1.08%.
Elsewhere, U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts sharply lower, as shares in Bank of America tumbled 1.28% although Evercore earlier raised its rating on the firm to "overweight" from "equal-weight."
Citigroup plummeted 1.42% and JP Morgan dropped 0.88%, while shares in Goldman Sachs declined 0.52%.
Tech giant Hewlett-Packard was also on the downside, easing 0.05% as opening statements in the company’s lawsuit against Oracle over the Itanium chip were scheduled to begin. HP sued Oracle in a California state court for breach of contract after Oracle decided to discontinue support for the Itanium microprocessor.
In addition Monday, official data showed that U.S. factory orders unexpectedly fell 0.6% in April, declining for the second consecutive month and defying expectations for a 0.2% gain.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.50%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gave back 1.19%.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. ISM non manufacturing index, the Canadian and Australian interest rate decision, as well as German factory orders on Tuesday.