US close: Markets mixed as investors await Fed

Markets in the US closed mixed on Monday, though they appeared to brush off a drop in oil prices as investors looked towards the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the week.

The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average both managed to reverse opening losses to eke out gains, by 0.04% to 4,750.29 and 0.09% to 17,229 respectively.

Boeing was the big leader on the Dow gaining 1.37%, while the Nasdaq was led by rises in Gilead Sciences, up 1.39%; Amazon, up 0.66%; and Starbucks, up 1.84%.

Trade volumes were looking to be at their lowest in 2016 so far, sitting just above six billion at close.

The S&P 500 slipped away from earlier gains, losing 0.13% to 2,019.64. Energy and materials led the decliners, each closing more than half a percent down.

Leading the index's risers, however, was Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which gained 7.8% after the company revealed an unsolicited acquisition offer for $76 a share.

Oil maintained its downward trend, with Brent crude last down 1.74% at $39.70 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate down 2.86% at $37.43.

The crude prices kept declining after the Iranian news agency Shana quoted Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak as saying Russia accepted Iran's right to increase oil output despite production sanctions.

"Today's pretty much of a day where people shore up their positions ahead of the meeting," said TD Ameritrade chief strategist JJ Kinahan.

Sarhan Capital CEO Adam Sarhan pointed out that the markets were starting to see some of the Nadsaq stocks lead the way higher, adding: "to me it feels like this is late in the game. People being positive ahead of BOJ and the Fed. They don't want to be left out."

The Bank of Japan was set to finish its two day meeting in the early hours of Tuesday GMT, while the Fed's Open Market Committee was to begin its two-day meet on Tuesday.

US investors appeared to be taking a breather with the lower oil prices, ahead of consumer sales data on Tuesday and the Fed press conference scheduled for Wednesday. Analysts were expecting the central bank to hold on interest rates, and were mainly awaiting the commentary.

Treasury yields managed to lift off from session lows. The two year yield sat at 0.96% and the 10-year yield finished the day at 1.97%.

The greenback was slightly higher by end of US trading, though the yen had since clawed back 0.03% to JPY 113.79 and the common currency was 0.01% weaker post-close at $1.1102 per euro.

S&P 500 - Risers
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $75.93 +7.82%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $66.54 +4.46%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $9.97 +4.40%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $2.92 +4.29%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $16.50 +3.06%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $140.14 +3.04%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $31.66 +2.96%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $32.41 +2.82%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $29.46 +2.65%
Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) $15.11 +2.44%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $4.48 -31.60%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.38 -6.81%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $7.46 -6.75%
Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) $43.88 -4.17%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $61.13 -3.57%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $134.50 -3.43%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $48.19 -3.39%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $61.41 -3.28%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $103.04 -3.12%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $84.75 -3.12%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $126.34 +1.37%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.81 +1.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $122.90 +1.11%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.81 +0.89%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $128.84 +0.30%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $142.78 +0.30%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $67.36 +0.28%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.41 +0.27%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $102.52 +0.25%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.29 +0.20%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $30.10 -1.31%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.43 -1.04%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $63.30 -0.83%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $112.82 -0.72%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.17 -0.71%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.70 -0.57%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $59.12 -0.37%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $94.26 -0.34%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $153.49 -0.29%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.27 -0.23%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $66.54 +4.46%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $215.15 +3.69%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $32.41 +2.82%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $593.07 +2.17%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $58.12 +2.02%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $36.79 +2.00%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $41.22 +1.90%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $53.72 +1.88%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $58.65 +1.84%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $49.69 +1.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $134.50 -3.43%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $48.19 -3.39%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $68.98 -2.69%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $85.98 -2.59%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $154.77 -2.41%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $26.67 -2.38%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $35.36 -2.24%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.15 -2.11%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $99.99 -1.83%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $27.93 -1.79%