US Markets End Mainly Lower After Choppy Session

Wall Street stocks mostly lost ground on Monday in a session marked by uncertainty ahead of a heavily-anticipated US-China meeting at the Group of 20 summit later this week.

Analysts described investors as cautious in light of the G20 talks and the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. Washington also imposed new sanctions Monday on Iran.

"Everyone is waiting for the G20 meeting on Friday, even if we don't expect a lot out of it," said Bill Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates. "At least the hope is for no new escalation of tensions."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up less than 0.1 percent at 26,727.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 2,945, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.3 percent to 8,005.

Key data releases this week include reports on consumer confidence, GDP growth and personal income and spending.

After tumbling in May, US stocks have risen in June as the Federal Reserve has adopted a dovish line on monetary policy.

Caesars Entertainment shot up 14.5 percent after agreeing to be acquired by Eldorado Resorts for about US$17.3 billion. Eldorado fell 10.6 percent.

Celgene dropped 5.5 percent and Bristol-Myers 7.4 percent after the latter announced it planned to divest psoriasis treatment Otezla to win regulatory approval of their proposed merger.

Bristol-Myers also pushed back the time-frame for closing the deal to the end of 2019 or early 2020 from the third quarter of this year. (AFP)