: U.S. stocks end holiday-shortened session modestly higher on mixed economic data

U.S. stock indexes finished higher in subdued trading on Monday as investors eyed a mixed bag of economic data after closing out a historically robust first half of the year that saw the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite post its best opening six-months in four decades. The S&P 500 SPX rose 5 points on Monday, or 0.1%, to settle at 4,455. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP rose 0.2%. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing survey dipped to 46% in June from 46.9% in the prior month. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the index to register 47.3% in June. Meanwhile, spending on construction projects rose 0.9% in May to $1.93 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Wall Street was expecting construction spending to rise 0.5% in April. The U.S. stock market closed early on Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and will be closed on Tuesday, July 4 in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.

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