Stocks drifted to a mixed close after last week’s roller-coaster ride left them shy of their records. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite all ended little changed.
The focus on Wall Street has been on interest rates and when the Federal Reserve will lower them.
Hot reports on inflation and the economy have forced traders to delay forecasts for when relief on rates could arrive. That raises the pressure on companies to deliver strong profits to justify higher stock prices.
Reports on inflation and corporate profits are due later this week.
On Monday:
The S&P 500 fell 1.95 points, less than 0.1%, to 5,202.39.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.24 points, less than 0.1%, to 38,892.80
The Nasdaq composite rose 5.44 points, less than 0.1%, to 16,253.96.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 10.24 points, or 0.5%, to 2,073.72.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 432.56 points, or 9.1%.
The Dow is up 1,203.26 points, or 3.2%.
The Nasdaq is up 1,242.60 points, or 8.3%.
The Russell 2000 is up 46.64 points, or 2.3%.
