WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following back-to-back positive weeks, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing little changed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 6.80 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,629.77, the S&P 500 edged down 0.65 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,449.15 and the Dow slipped 34.30 points or 0.1 percent to 44,911.82.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on the White House, where President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leader.
The meetings at the White House come after Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska yielded some progress but failed to result in a concrete agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump claimed Zelenskyy has the power to 'end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to.'
Traders were also looking ahead to comments from central bank officials at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium later this week along with earnings news from big-name retailers like Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD).
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the symposium on Friday, with his remarks potentially impacting the outlook for interest rates.
According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, there is an 83.2 percent chance the Fed will lower interest rates by a quarter point at its next monetary policy meeting in September.
On the U.S. economic front, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing a modest deterioration by U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of August.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index edged down to 32 in August after inching up to 33 in July. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Natural gas stocks showed a notable move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index falling by 1.5 percent amid a decrease by the price of the commodity.
Commercial real estate stocks also saw some weakness, while oil service stocks moved higher along with the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.2 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turning in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw modest weakness, extending the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by 1.3 basis points to 4.341 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to any developments from the White House meeting on Ukraine, while a report on new residential construction may also attract attention.
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