Stocks on Wall Street finished mixed with technology shares. led by Cisco, surging while healthcare fall back after President Barack Obama in a speech berated health insurers for high premiums.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 13.68 points, or 0.1%,
Stocks on Wall Street finished mixed with technology shares. led by Cisco, surging while healthcare fall back after President Barack Obama in a speech berated health insurers for high premiums.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 13.68 points, or 0.1%, lower at 10,553.52 in the lowest volume of shares traded this year. The measure's health-care components were among its worst performers, with Pfizer down 1% and Merck off 0.7%.
McDonald's kept the decline in check, jumping 2.2% after the fast-food chain reported its global same-store sales rose 4.8% in February, more than analysts were expecting.
Cisco Systems surged 3.7%, while Verizon Communications and AT&T also climbed, as a forthcoming Cisco announcement is expected to show how it can help telecommunications companies boost their internet speeds.
The Nasdaq Composite gained the benefit with a 0.3% rise to 2332.21, the year's high. The S&P 500 index finished at 1138.50, a downaward move of less than a point and ending a six-day rally.
Other markets
European stocks closed mostly flat as concerns about Greece receded. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed flat, down 0.1% at 256.87.
Drug makers were under notable pressure, with AstraZeneca shares falling 1.4% after it said a trial of its Recentin medicine showed the drug wasn't better than a rival treatment for colorectal cancer when used with chemotherapy.
The UK's FTSE 100 index closed 0.1% higher at 5606.72, France's CAC-40 index was off 0.2% at 3902.54 and Germany's DAX was flat, down 0.1% to finish at 5875.91.
In the Middle East, Dubai Financial Market's main index of shares gained 1.7% to 1649.14, extending Sunday's 2.3% advance, after reports that Dubai World will approach creditors this week with a proposal for restructuring $US22 billion in debt.
Asian markets rallied Monday as resource stocks paced a broad advance on the back of higher commodity prices, while Australia's Arrow Energy surged after receiving a takeover bid.
Among the day's big gainers was Japan's Nikkei Stock Average of 225 companies, which rose 2.1% to 10585.92 as sentiment improved on better-than-expected U.S. jobs data and the yen's recent weakness.
In Tokyo, Sony climbed 2.8% and Sharp jumped 3.8%, Toyota Motor rose 3.5% and Nissan Motor climbed 4.7%. Panasonic rose 2.8%, helped by the weaker yen and on news it will partner with American electronics retailer Best Buy to market its three-dimensional image television sets in the US.
In Sydney, shares of Arrow Energy soared 47% after Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina offered to pay around A$3.26 billion (US$2.96 billion), or A$4.45 a share in cash for the company.
BHP Billiton rose 2.4% and Rio Tinto added 2.6%. BHP was helped by news that Japan's major steelmakers have agreed to a 55% price hike for supplies during the April-June quarter. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9% at 4807.86.
PetroChina shares gained 2.8% in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng rose 2% to 21,196.87.
Korea's Kospi gained 1.6% to 1660.04, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% to 3053.23 and Singapore’s Straits Times rose 1.6% to 2834.57.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Oil futures closed higher after a volatile day's trading.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery settled 37USc, or 0.5%, higher at $US81.87 a barrel in New York. Prices touched an eight-week intraday high of $US82.41 a barrel earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 58USc, or 0.7%, higher at $US80.47 a barrel.
Gold futures turned lower as traders who previously bought the metal in other currencies started exiting from those positions.
The most-active April contract fell $US11.20, or 1%, to $US1124.
Currencies: Euro, pound down
The euro and the UK pound weakened against the dollar, as demand for stocks and other riskier assets wilted.
By midday in New York, the euro had weakened slightly to $US1.3612 from $US1.3622 late on Friday. The euro weakened to ¥122.90 from ¥123.04.
The dollar was flat at ¥90.32 from ¥90.33. The pound slumped to $US1.5063 from $US1.5145.
