U.S. stocks pared early losses to end mixed Monday, as investors assessed a batch of generally negative economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.12 points, or 0.10 percent, to 16,449.18. The S&P 500 edged down 0.86 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,939.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.41 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,620.37. U.S. personal income increased 42.5 billion U.S. dollars, or 0. 3 percent, and disposable personal income increased 37.8 billion dollars, or 0.3 percent, in December, the Commerce Department said on Monday.
"Consumers have been defensive, growing savings faster than spending, since May. This is unusual behavior, especially since gasoline prices are falling," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note. In a separate report, the department announced that U.S. construction spending during December 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,116.6 billion dollars, 0.1 percent above the revised November reading but missing market consensus of a 0.6-percent gain.
Meanwhile, the U.S. January purchasing managers' index (PMI) registered 48.2 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the seasonally adjusted December reading, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said Monday.
A reading above 50 indicates the sector is generally expanding, while a reading below that level indicates contraction. The weaker-than-expected economic data raised expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would go slow on future interest rate hikes.
Overseas, Chinese shares began the month on a weak note Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite slipping 1.78 percent, as the country's January PMI fell to its lowest level since August 2012.
Tokyo shares surged Monday on the Bank of Japan's decision to further its monetary easing policy, with the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average jumping 1.98 percent. European equities ended lower on Monday. British benchmark FTSE 100 Index fell 0.39 percent, while French benchmark index CAC 40 declined 0.41 percent.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 1.09 percent to end at 19.98 Monday. In other markets, oil prices retreated after last week's solid gains on Monday as traders took the profit.
The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved down 2 U.S. dollars to settle at 31.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery decreased 1.75 dollars to close at 34.24 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The U.S. dollar declined against other major currencies on Monday amid soft manufacturing data from the country and dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer about the U.S. economy.
In late New York trading, the euro climbed to 1.0901 dollars from 1.0829 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 121.09 Japanese yen, lower than 121.17 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Monday as the U.S. dollar weakened. The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 11.6 dollars, or 1.04 percent, to settle at 1,128.00 dollars per ounce.
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