NEW YORK: US stocks traded mixed Monday as investors weighed better-than-expected March retail sales numbers, a sharp slowdown in New York manufacturing and renewed eurozone debt tensions.
The three main indexes opened with solid gains after a second straight weekly decline, but encountered selling pressure in early trade from mixed economic signals on the health of the US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 62.82 points (0.49 percent) to 12,912.41 after an hour of trade (1400 GMT).
The broader S&P 500 slipped 1.99 points (0.15 percent) to 1,368.27, while the tech-rich Nasdaq tumbled 27.37 (0.91 percent) to 2,983.96.
"The equity markets are receiving support from a stronger-than-forecasted read on US retail sales as well as an announcement from China to allow its currency to fluctuate more freely, offsetting a much larger deceleration in manufacturing activity in the New York region," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said.
The Commerce Department reported overall retail and food service sales expanded by 0.8 percent last month, slightly below February's increase but better than analysts expected.
The Empire State index for manufacturing in New York state plunged to 6.6, from 20.2 in March, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.
But overhanging the market was a rise in Spanish and Italian bond yields, said Dick Green at Briefing.com, adding, "the obsession is building."
"The market focus goes through fashions and a shift to Europe would increase anxiety in the US stock market."
In US corporate earnings news, Citigroup reported a $2.9 billion profit for the first quarter of the year, beating market forecasts. Shares in the banking giant rose 1.6 percent.
Toymaker Mattel plunged 7.8 percent after posting first-quarter profit slightly below expectations.
Apple dropped 2.7 percent. The gadget maker last Thursday denied a US government antitrust charge that it schemed with publishers to hike prices for e-books.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.96 percent from 2.00 percent Friday while the 30-year yield declined to 3.11 percent from 3.15 percent.
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