US stocks closed mixed on Monday as investors continued to fret over rising interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 39.73 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 26,486.78. The S&P 500 was down 1.14 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,884.43, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 52.50 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 7,735.95.
Strong economic data and comments from top Federal Reserve officials has fueled bond rates surge last week. The 10-year note yield touched 3.24 per cent and hit a fresh 7-year high on Friday.
The unemployment rate declined to 3.7 per cent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 134,000, the US labor department said on Friday.
Job gains occurred in professional and business services, in health care, and in transportation and warehousing, said the department.
In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to $27.24. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 73 cents, or 2.8 pe rcent.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said that the US central bank had a long way to go before interest rates hit neutral, indicating that more hikes could be on the horizon.
Strong data and commentary from Fed officials can be bullish for equities, but that comes with the side effect of having concerns on more inflation and interest-rate increases, which in turn is a negative for equities, experts noted.
--IANS
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