US open: Stocks mixed as investors digest data; busy week ahead

US stocks were mixed in early trade on Monday as investors digested data on pending home sales and regional manufacturing and looked ahead to a busy week.

At 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% at 21,893.86, while the S&P 500 was flat at 2,472.36 and the Nasdaq was off 0.2% at 6,360.60.

With little of note due in terms of earnings on Monday, investors were likely to be looking to Apple's third-quarter numbers the following day. Consensus expectations are for the tech giant to report earnings per share of $1.57, up 10% from a year ago, and for sales of $44.95bn, up 6%.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The Dow jumped 60 points after the bell, and is aggressively eyeing the 21900 mark having flirted with that landmark level earlier in the day. There wasn’t all that much to drive the index higher this Monday, with investors perhaps enjoying the calm before the storm of data and earnings brought by the first few days of August.

"Tuesday’s Markit and ISM manufacturing PMIs are joined by Fed-favourite inflation gauge the core PCE price index and, most crucially, Apple’s latest earnings update. Wednesday then has the ADP employment change reading, before Thursday’s double dose of services PMIs and, finally, Friday’s non-farm jobs report. In other words, plenty to challenge the Dow’s recent rise."

Tesla ticked higher after chief executive Elon Musk gave details on pricing of its Model 3 at a launch part on Friday evening and said reservations stood at more than 500,000, while Loews nudged up as it said it swung to a profit in the second quarter.

Charter Communications rallied after a report that Japan's Softbank was looking at buying the cable and internet provider, while Snap shares slipped as its IPO lockup expired.

On the data front, the Chicago Business Barometer fell to 58.9 from 65.7n in June, hitting its lowest level in three months and missing expectations for a smaller decline to 60.0

The fall in sentiment was broad-based but concentrated across demand and output. New orders fell by 11.6 points to 60.3, which was their lowest level since February, while production dropped 6.9 points to 60.8, which was the lowest since April.

Meanwhile, the order backlogs indicator declined 4.9 points from June's 23-year high of 57.9.

Jamie Satchie, economist at MNI Indicators, said: “MNI’s July Chicago Business Barometer should be viewed in the context of the underlying, upward trend in business sentiment witnessed since early 2016. Key indicators, despite reversing their June reading, remain above their respective averages set over the last twelve months, and point towards robust confidence among U.S firms."

Elsewhere, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed US pending home sales rose more than expected in June. The NAR's monthly index rose 1.5% to 110.2 from an upwardly-revised 108.6 in May. Economists had been expecting a 1% increase.

The NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said: "The first half of 2017 ended with a nearly identical number of contract signings as one year ago, even as the economy added 2.2 million net new jobs.

"Market conditions in many areas continue to be fast paced, with few properties to choose from, which is forcing buyers to act almost immediately on an available home that fits their criteria."

Investors were also mulling geopolitical tensions over the weekend after North Korea tested a second intercontinental ballistic missile, claiming it proved that the whole of the US was within striking range. This came three weeks after the first ICBM test. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier that 755 staff must leave US diplomatic missions in retaliation for new US sanctions against Moscow.