U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance, Look Headed For Mixed Close

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks are turning in a lackluster performance on Monday, and the major averages look headed for a mixed close, with investors making cautious moves while closely tracking the developments on the geopolitical front, and updates on Covid-19 infections.

Rising prospects of aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve to rein in inflation weigh on the market. Technology stocks are faring reasonably well despite suffering a setback after a positive start.

Among the major averages, the Dow is down 158.45 points or 0.46 percent at 34,702.79. The S&P 500 is down 1.56 points or 0.03 percent at 4,541.50, while the Nasdaq is gaining 60.50 points or 0.43 percent at 14,229.80.

Russia and Ukraine are set to resume diplomatic talks in Turkey on Tuesday. Russia has reportedly signaled that it may scale down its war and aims to concerntrate on eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy also said he wants to make a deal with Moscow over Donbas and he is willing to discuss adopting a neutral status too.

Energy stocks are down, tracking weak crude oil prices. Oil prices tumbled today amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand after Shanghai decided to impose fresh lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infections.

Shares of Tesla Inc. is up nearly 8 percent following an announcement from the company that it would seek investor approval for a stock split.

Walmart, Microsfot and Salesforce.com are gaining 1 to 1.3 percent.

Chevron, Intel, JP Morgan Chase, Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs, Caterpillar, American Express, Boeing and 3M are down 1 to 2.5 percent.

In overseas trading, Asian shares turned in a mixed performance on Monday amid lingering worries surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

After a strong spell in positive territory, the major European markets pared gains towards the later part of the session on Monday as turned a bit cautious and chose to trim down positions at higher levels.

The early surge came amid hopes of a peace deal in the Ukraine crisis. Face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia are set to continue this week, with delegations from both countries traveling to Turkey today. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that discussions were likely to resume Tuesday.

In commodities trading, gold futures ended lower by $14.40 or about 0.7% at $1,939.80 an ounce, as a stronger dollar and rising bond yields weighed on the safe-haven metal.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May are down $7.68 or 6.76% at $106.22 a barrel.