US stock market news: Dow Jones, S&P 500 gain marginally, Nasdaq ends flat ahead of inflation data

US stock market news: Dow Jones and S&P 500 clawed back from steep losses, while Nasdaq ended flat to a mixed close on Monday as investors digested Friday's employment report and prepared for an eventful week of inflation data and bank earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 101.23 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 33,586.52, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 4.09 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 4,109.11 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 3.60 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 12,084.36.

Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, six ended the session higher, led by industrials (.SPLRCI). Communication services (.SPLRCL) and utilities (.SPLRCI) suffered the largest percentage losses.

On Friday, a market holiday, the Labor Department released its March jobs report, which showed robust payrolls growth and a welcome but modest wage inflation cool-down.

Market participants will pay close attention to the consumer (CPI) and producer (PPI) price indexes, expected on Thursday and Friday, respectively, for a more complete picture on the extent to which inflation cooled in March.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.63-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.39-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 50 new highs and 155 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 9.09 billion shares, compared with the 12.28 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

On Friday, a trio of big banks - Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) - unofficially kick off first-quarter earnings season, and investors will be scrutinizing the reports for clues on the sector's overall health after two US regional banks collapsed in March.

Recent indicators suggest a softening but sturdy economy, one that can withstand hawkish Fed policy as the central bank works to bring inflation closer to its 2 per cent annual target.

With Reuters Inputs