U.S. stocks mixed on robust services index

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday as ISM's services index rose to an 8-month high.

In the closing trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 8.25, or 0.07 percent, to 12,661.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 1.40, or 0.10 percent, at 1,446.99, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 5.28, or 0.21 percent, to 2,470.60.

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) reported on Monday its index of services activity for January rose by 2.3 points to 59.0 in January, its highest reading since last May.

Global Insight's U.S. Economist Bottom Line said that the data show the brisk expansion in services continues, keeping the expansion moving ahead at a solid rate.

However, the report's details show that the improvement lacked depth and that conditions across the sector have become more diverse, said David H. Resler, chief economist of Nomura International.

Source: Xinhua