WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday, with the Dow reaching a new record closing high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a notable pullback after posting a strong gain last week.
The Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the session and briefly dipped into negative territory but ended the day up 65.44 points or 0.2 percent at 41,240.52.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq slid 152.03 points or 0.9 percent to 17,725.77 and the S&P 500 fell 17.77 points or 0.3 percent at 5,616.84.
The modest gain posted by the Dow came amid strong gains by 3M Co. (MMM), Coca-Cola (KO) and Walt Disney (DIS).
On the other hand, substantial weakness among semiconductor stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.5 percent.
Within the semiconductor sector, AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) slumped by 2.3 percent ahead of the release of its fiscal second quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.
Computer hardware stocks also showed a notable move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 1.3 percent.
At the same time, energy stocks turned in a strong performance as the price of crude oil surged amid geopolitical concerns after Israel and Hezbollah traded a barrage of strikes across the Lebanon border.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a sharp increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders spiked by 9.9 percent in July after tumbling by a revised 6.9 percent in June.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 4.0 percent compared to the 6.7 percent plunge that had been reported for the previous month.
The substantial rebound by durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment skyrocketed by 34.8 percent in July after plummeting by 20.6 percent in June.
Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.2 percent in July after inching up by 0.1 percent in June. Ex-transportation orders were expected to come in unchanged.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.1 percent.
The major European markets also finished the day narrowly mixed, with the U.K. markets closed for a holiday. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved slightly lower over the course of the session after seeing early strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by 1.1 basis points to 3.818 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to a report on consumer confidence in the month of August, although activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of more closely watched data later in the week.
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