Traders monitor market data on screens at the New York Stock Exchange. [UPI]
Traders monitor market data on screens at the New York Stock Exchange. [UPI]

Wall Street's three major indexes closed mixed Monday (local time), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing higher while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell.

Trading was subdued as US markets observed Columbus Day, a federal holiday. Rising oil prices and selling pressure on memory chip stocks weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. The S&P 500 fell 4.30 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 7,807.24, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 120.27 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 27,245.90.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, gaining 195.60 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 51,850.55.

Analysts attributed the mixed session largely to rising crude oil prices. Houthi rebels have carried out repeated airstrikes on Riyadh's international airport in recent days, prompting retaliatory strikes by the Saudi-led coalition. Concerns that the conflict could draw in Iran and spread across the broader Middle East pushed crude prices higher for a third consecutive trading day.

Brent crude for December delivery settled up 1.84 percent at $106.65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose 2.06 percent to $93.74 a barrel.

Weakness in memory chip stocks also pulled the tech-heavy Nasdaq lower. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 2.60 percent after reports emerged that China's CXMT had achieved new advances in DRAM technology and planned to unveil a next-generation server product this year.

Micron Technology tumbled 3.88 percent, and SK hynix's American depositary receipts fell 4.02 percent. Nvidia, Broadcom and AMD also declined, each losing around 2 percent.

Markets are focused on a busy week ahead, with major financial institutions set to report earnings and key economic data expected to shed light on inflation. Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth, said there are many factors to watch. "It's like walking down a dark railroad track — you can't tell if a train is coming, so you move very carefully," he said.


kate01@heraldcorp.com