US equity benchmarks were struggling for direction on Monday morning amid a mixed set of economic data, the release of earnings report and declines in the energy and materials sectors.
IHS Markit's closely-watched US flash services purchasing managers' index rose to 54.4 in April from 54.0 in March missing analysts' estimates for 54.5. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index meanwhile fell to 0.10 from a revised previous reading of 0.98, also falling short of analysts' estimates for 0.29.
Separate data showed that existing home sales rose by 1.1% in March to 5.60 million, beating analysts' estimates for 5.53 million and also ahead of the unrevised reading for February of 5.54 million.
Some six of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's 11 key sectors were lower at the time of writing, with energy and materials leading the decliners, 0.44% and 0.30% lower, respectively. By contrast, the utilities, health and real estate sectors were leading the gainers, up by 0.35%, 0.32% and 0.32%, respectively.
In equities, Henry Schein (HSIC) was leading the gainers on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, up by 5.6% after the health care technology provider said early Monday that it plans to spin off its animal health business and merge it with Vets First Choice, a technology-enabled health care services provider for veterinarians.
Hanesbrands (HBI) was 5.4% higher after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to buy from hold and lifted its price target to $23 from $21. Michael Kors (KORS), a manufacturer of handbags and accessories, was up by 4.8% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold.
Alaska Air Group (ALK) was 3.1% higher after the company posted better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. Revenues grew year-on-year, matching the consensus estimate provided by Capital IQ while adjusted diluted earnings per share were down from the prior-year period but ahead of analysts' estimates. State Street (STT) was also 3.1% higher after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold.
Decliners on the index were led by Centerpoint Enery (CNP), 2.5% lower after saying that it and Vectren (VVP) had entered into a definitive agreement to merge. N atural gas company Range Resources (RRC) was down by 2.1%. Oil production company Schlumberger (SLB) was 1.9% lower, Xerox (XRX), a provider of business services and document management solutions, was down by 1.7%. Mining company Freeport McMoRon (FCX) was down by 1.6% .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.14% lower, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up by 0.16% and the Nasdaq was 0.39% higher at the time of writing.
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