U.S. Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance; Nasdaq Climbs To Record High

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Monday with investors making cautious moves as they await a slew of crucial economic data, including reports on private sector and non-farm payroll employment, service sector activity and a reading on consumer sentiment.

Among the major averages, the tech-laden Nasdaq climbed to a record high, and is up 170.53 points or 0.89 percent at 19,388.70. The down is down in negative territory at 44,771.21 with a loss of 139.44 or 0.31 percent, while the S&P 500 is up 12.70 points or 0.21 percent at 6,045.08.

Tesla is up 3.6 percent following a rating upgrade after the company announced it was rolling out an update for its "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance software. Intel is gaining 3.7 percent after the company said that its CEO Pat Gelsinger retired from the company effective December 1. Gelsinger's failure to respond to Nvidia's competitive edge and a lack of confidence in his turnaround plans are reported to be the reason for his exit from Intel.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc is gaining about 3.25 percent. Meta Platforms is climbing 3 percent. Apple Inc, Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet and Intel are up 1 to 2.5 percent.

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report on Monday showing its reading on U.S. manufacturing increased by more than expected in the month of November but continued to indicate a contraction.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI rose to 48.4 in November from 46.5 in October, although a reading below 50 still indicates contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 47.5.

Construction spending in the U.S. increased more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The report said construction spending climbed by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $2.174 trillion in October after inching up by 0.1 percent to a rate of $2.165 trillion in September. Economists had expected construction spending to rise by 0.2 percent.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks rose broadly on Monday after the release of robust Chinese factory activity data.

However, concerns over a broader trade war capped regional gains after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump demanded a commitment from the BRICS nations on using the dollar, warning they shouldn't move to create a new currency or endorse any other currency to replace the dollar.

After struggling for direction early on in the session, European stocks closed broadly higher on Monday as investors digested the latest batch of economic data, including reports on Eurozone and UK manufacturing activity, and continued to follow the political developments in France.