The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 115.29 points, or 0.30 percent, to 38,571.03. The S&P 500 added 5.89 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,283.4. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 93.65 points, or 0.56 percent, to 16,828.67.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and utilities leading the laggards by losing 2.60 percent and 1.26 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and health led the gainers by rising 0.98 percent and 0.74 percent, respectively.
The ISM manufacturing index dropped to 48.7 percent in May from 49.2 percent the previous month. "The manufacturing side of the economy appears to have stalled. Companies are extremely cautious with any form of investment," said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index. The ISM report is often seen as an indicator of economic health, since numbers below 50 percent indicate that the manufacturing sector is contracting.
U.S. stocks have performed well in this presidential election year, with the S&P 500 up over 10 percent approaching midyear. Though record highs before November's election may be unlikely, Wells Fargo Investment Institute predicts further election-related gains in 2025. "This year's performance is well above the average for this point in the cycle and is currently one of the best," Jeremy Folsom, a Wells Fargo investment-strategy analyst, wrote in a client note Monday. He also expects the S&P 500 to hit a fresh record high of 5,700 points by the end of next year, in part because of the big gains seen around the last three U.S. presidential elections in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
Also on Monday, a Reddit account linked to the "meme-stock folk hero" Keith Gill posted for the first time in years over the weekend, sharing a screenshot showing a 116 million U.S. dollars position in GameStop stock, plus a substantial options bet. This news spurred GameStop shares to soar 21 percent in Monday trading. Other meme stocks also rallied, with AMC shares jumping 11.09 percent and Koss advancing more than 0.6 percent.
The first week of June is packed with economic updates. Investors are eagerly anticipating private payroll data from ADP on Wednesday, followed by the May jobs report on Friday. Investors seem to be looking for a slight economic slowdown that would prompt the Federal Reserve to consider cutting interest rates, but not a slowdown severe enough to trigger recession fears.
Additionally, a technical issue at the New York Stock Exchange affected price quotes for several stocks earlier Monday, but trading returned to normal around midday.
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