U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed Monday to wrap up June on a strong note, as economic data from the country turned out mixed.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 25.24 points, or 0.15 percent, to 16,826.60. The S&P 500 edged down 0.73 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,960.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 10. 25 points, or 0.23 percent, to 4,408.18.
Kicking off a holiday shortened week for the July 4 Independence Day, the stock market opened slightly mixed before toggling in and out of negative territory.
Mulling a batch of mixed data, investors seemed cautious on the final trading day of June, a month when the U.S. equity market shrugged off ongoing geopolitical unrest in Iraq. The Dow and the S&P 500 saw their fifth straight month of gains up 0.7 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. While the Nasdaq rose 3.9 percent for the month.
In the second quarter of the year following the consolidating first quarter when the stock market moved up and down, the three indices also closed in positive terrain, rising 2.2 percent, 4.7 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.
On the economic front, the Chicago Business Barometer eased to 62.6 in June, from a seven-month high of 65.5 in May, but was still up sharply on the quarter and consistent with a bounce-back in the second-quarter gross domestic production, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said on Monday. The latest figure missed market expectations. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Separately, Texas factory activity increased more than expected in June, with the production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, rising from 11 to 15.5, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Monday. A reading above zero indicates expanding activity.
In addition, U.S. pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, jumped 6.1 percent to 103.9 in May from 97.9 in April, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. The 6.1 percent increase in May, the largest month-over-month gain since April 2010, also easily beat analyst estimates.
The major focus of the week will be the U.S. nonfarm payroll report for June scheduled for release on Thursday by the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the U.S.