US close: Dow registers record close in mixed trading session

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Sharecast News | 29 Mar, 2021

Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday following a fresh record close for the S&P 500 in the final session of the previous week.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.30% at 33,171.37, while the S&P 500 was 0.09% weaker at 3,971.09 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.60% softer at 13,059.65.

The Dow closed 98.49 points higher on Monday, hitting a new record and extending gains recorded on Friday after a rush of broad-based buying in the dying minutes of trading.

Market participants prepped for increased volatility during the Easter holiday-shortened week on Monday, with quarter-end rebalancing among pension funds and other big investors as still elevated bond yields were seen as setting up money managers to make large adjustments to their portfolios.

Wall Street traders were also holding out until Wednesday for an update from Joe Biden on his infrastructure plan, said to cost more than $3.0trn, after White House press secretary Jen Psaki said over the weekend that the President intends to roll out two packages over the coming months - the first covering infrastructure and the second health and family care.

On the macro front, March's Dallas Fed manufacturing index surged 28 points to 48.0, its highest reading in the survey's 17-year history, as perceptions of broader business conditions improved markedly throughout the month.

In the corporate space, Credit Suisse shares were down after warnings that its first-quarter results would take a "significant" hit on the back of exiting hedge fund positions related to last week's Archegos-linked forced selling, while Nomura shares slumped 14% after it cautioned it could meet a similar fate.

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