Stocks Finished Mixed after Factory Data

U.S. stocks finished mixed on Monday, shaking off a surprise contraction in manufacturing. The equity markets are slated to close early at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday and be shut down completely on Wednesday for the July 4th Independence Day holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 8.70 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 12,871.39. The S&P 500 added 3.35 points, or 0.25 percent, to end at 1,365.51. The Nasdaq gained 16.18 points, or 0.55 percent, to finish at 2,951.23.

Manufacturing activity shrunk in June for the first time in three years as new orders dried up, according to a key report released Monday that points to a deteriorating U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell to 49.7% from 53.5% in May,

Oil prices retreated 1.4% Monday. Light, sweet crude-oil futures fell $1.21 to settle at $83.75 a barrel for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Microsoft Corp admitted its largest acquisition in the Internet sector was effectively worthless and wiped out any profit for the last quarter, as it announced a $6.2 billion charge to write down the value of an online advertising agency it bought five years ago.