US close: Stocks end mixed after disappointing data
US stocks ended mixed on Monday as investors digested some weaker-than-expected data.
The S&P 500 ended flat at 2,439.07, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1% to 21,409.55 and the Nasdaq ended down 0.3% at 6,247.15.
Data released earlier in the session revealed that durable goods orders fell by 1.1% month-on-month in May, undershooting forecasts by a wide margin as orders for civilian and defence aircraft and so-called 'core' orders acted as a drag.
According to Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in recent years core capex orders had lagged oil prices by a few months. If that relationship continued to hold then orders would remain steady throughout the summer and then fall modestly in the fall. However, Shepherdson did not expect to see a meltdown in capex.
Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago's national activity gauge slipped from a reading of 0.57 points for April to -0.26 in May.
Overnight, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, John Williams, echoed chair Janet Yellen, calling for continued gradual rate hikes in order to avoid overheating from tightness in the labour market.
In corporate news, shares in Avis rose amid reports of a buyout offer, while Pandora Media surged following reports its founder and chief executive officer Tim Westergren was planning to step down.
Martin Marietta was also trading on the front foot following the announcement that it would take over Bluegrass Materials for $1.63bn in cash.
Yum! Brands gained after Australia's Collins Foods said it was buying 28 KFC restaurants from the operator of fast food chains.
Stock in Arconic slumped, however, after The New York Times reported it was the firm which built the cladding for the Grenfell Tower in London.
In oil markets, West Texas Intermediate settled up 0.9% at $43.42 a barrel while Brent crude was up 0.7% to $45.87.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "I'm seeing little to convince me that this is anything other than a dead cat bounce."