NEW YORK:US stocks started a new quarter hovering around the breakeven point Monday as investors weighed a batch of manufacturing data from theUnited States,China andEurope.
In the first hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 18.17 points (0.14 percent) to 13,193.87.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.83 points (0.13 percent) to 1,410.30, while the tech-rich Nasdaq climbed 3.65 points (0.12 percent) to 3,095.22.
"Traders are digesting a plethora of global manufacturing releases," Charles Schwab analysts said.
Signs of weakness inEuropeset a negative tone early in the session.
Eurozone manufacturing activity dropped to a three-month low in March, with the weakness spreading to top economies Germany and France, a key survey showed.
But there was better news from theUnited StatesandChina, helping to underpin sentiment.
Chinasaid Sunday that manufacturing activity last month hit its highest level in a year, tempering recent concerns of a sharp slowdown in the world's number-two economy.
Meanwhile US manufacturing accelerated in March, according to the ISM index. The widely watched measure rose from 52.4 percent in February to 53.5 percent last month.
"ISM manufacturing survey data offer further encouraging news that the sector continued to expand at a robust pace at the end of the first quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
Early trade saw Bank of America and Caterpillar shares fall slightly more than one percent.
General Motors was up 2.1 percent.
Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.03 points to 2.19 percent. The 30 year yield fell to 3.32 percent, also down 0.03 points.
Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.
On Friday, stocks ended the first quarter with record point-gains in the period for the S&P 500 and the Dow blue chips. The Dow rose 8.1 percent over the period, the S&P 500 added 12 percent, while the Nasdaq surged 18.7 percent.
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