Dow, S&P 500 close at new record highs
Stocks were mostly higher Monday as the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 set new record closing highs for a second straight session.
The Dow rose 26.46 points, or 0.2%, to 16,743.63 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.40, or 0.1%, to 1924.97.
The Nasdaq composite index dipped 5.42 points, or 0.1%, to 4237.20.
Stocks initially fell sharply and then reversed course after it took time to sort out a twice-corrected 10 a.m. ET report on manufacturing activity.
An index on the sector from the Institute for Supply Management abruptly shifted from bearish to bullish after a processing error inaccurately generated lower-than-expected results.
The first report by the ISM said its monthly index fell to 53.2 last month, down from 54.9 in April. Although anything above 50 indicates expansion, the new reading would have marked the lowest level since February.
But ISM first corrected the May manufacturing index to 56 — and subsequently changed that to 55.4 in a second correction — after confirming that the wrong seasonal adjustment had been mistakenly applied to the initial report.
The Institute for Supply Management said its monthly index fell to 53.2% last month, down from 54.9% in April. Although anything above 50 indicates expansion, the new reading represents the lowest level since February.
Major indexes in Europe ended mixed, Britain's FTSE gaining 0.3% to 6864.10, the DAX of Germany climbing 0.1% to 9950.12 and the CAC 40 of France slipping 0.1% to 4515.89.
Japan's benchmark index closed sharply higher on Monday. The Nikkei 225 index rose 2.1% to 14,935.92.
Elsewhere in the region, trading was relatively subdued with markets closed for holidays in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand.
On Friday, the Dow rose 0.1% to its all-time closing high of 16,717.17. The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to its record close of 1,923.57. The only index to fall was the Nasdaq composite, which ended down 0.1% to 4,242.62.
May was the best month for U.S. investors since February. The S&P rose 2.1% for the month, while the Dow rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq rose 3.1%.
Contributing: Kevin McCoy, Kim Hjelmgaard, Associated Press
