U.S. Stocks Close Higher; Nasdaq Outperforms

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, with technology shares turning in a fine performance. The major averages all started off on a somewhat weak note in lackluster trade, but turned positive with stocks gaining in strength gradually as the session progressed.

The Dow ended higher by 50.66 points or 0.13 percent, at 39,169.52. The S&P 500 advanced 14.61 points or 0.27 percent to 5,475.09, while the Nasdaq climbed 146.70 points or 0.83 percent to 17,879.30.

Investors looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The report, which is expected to show a slowdown in the pace of job growth in the month of June, could impact the outlook for interest rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in the month of June.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI edged down to 48.5 in June from 48.7 in May, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 49.1.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department unexpectedly showed a slight decrease in U.S. construction spending in the month of May.

The Commerce Department said construction spending edged down by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $2.140 trillion in May after rising by 0.3 percent to a revised rate of $2.142 billion in April.

Economists had expected construction spending to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.1 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

Microsoft Corporation shares gained about 2.2 percent. Apple Inc climbed nearly 3 percent. Amazon surged 2 percent. Nvidia and Alphabet posted modest gains.

Tesla Inc surged more than 6 percent, ahead of its second-quarter delivery numbers expected on Tuesday.

JP Morgan Chase, Eli Lilly, Oracle Corporation, Merck, Wells Fargo, T-Mobile, Verizon Communications, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Nike and Boeing gained 1 to 3 percent.

ADP, Analog Devices, Honeywell International, Blackstone, Uber Technologies, Comcast Corporation, Caterpillar, Walt Disney, Home Depot, Procter & Gamble and Advanced Micro Devices ended notably lower.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.32 percent. Germany's DAX gained 0.3 percent, and France's CAC 40 ended up 1.09 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.03 percent.