Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday (local time). [Reuters]
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday (local time). [Reuters]

Major US stock indexes closed mixed Monday (local time) as international oil prices tumbled on hopes for end-of-war negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Wall Street opened higher, buoyed by the sharp drop in crude prices, but a continued exodus from technology stocks pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite into negative territory in the afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213.67 points, or 0.41%, to close at 51,983.98 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 fell 38.67 points, or 0.51%, to finish at 7,541.40. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 272.68 points, or 1.07%, to end at 25,164.32.

Markets are now looking to two key events for direction: the results of the US midterm elections, held Friday, and the US jobs report due Nov. 6.


kate01@heraldcorp.com