Off the wire
• Lebanon's military drone crashes on eastern borders  • 5 Czechs abducted in Lebanon freed months after kidnapping  • Obama's envoy meets with Kurdish officials in northern Syria: monitor  • Israel bars manager of Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound from entering site  • Urgent: U.S. stocks end mixed amid downbeat data  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls amid weak data, Fischer's remarks  • UN chief defends Mideast briefing to Security Council critical of Israel and terrorism  • Spotlight: UN envoy meets opposition representatives as intra-Syrian talks officially kick off  • Frankfurt scoop Ben-Hatira, Regaesel from Hertha Berlin  • Chicago wheat, soybeans, corn lower despite weak U.S. dollar  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks end mixed amid downbeat data

Xinhua, February 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

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. Endit