Shares of Apple have hit new record highs after the company won its patent lawsuit against Samsung, but overall stocks traded mixed.
Stocks swung from early losses into gains and back again during the see-saw session amid little hard economic news.
The markets were firm “aided by a favourable patent ruling for Apple Inc and some M&A news,” Charles Schwab & Co analysts said, referring to multi-billion US dollar deals in the banking and car rental sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 33.30 points (0.25 per cent) at 13,124.67.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.69 (0.05 per cent) to 1,410.44, while Apple’s boost helped the tech-rich Nasdaq to a gain, adding 3.40 (0.11 per cent) to 3,073.19.
Apple shares scored new record highs, reaching $US682.07 before ending at $US675.48, up 1.9 per cent. The California gadget maker was awarded $US1.05 billion ($A1.01 billion) in damages for patent infringement in a US court victory over Samsung on Friday, in one of the biggest patent cases in decade.
Google, whose Android system is used on Samsung smartphones, fell 1.4 per cent.
Auto rental agency Dollar Thrifty jumped 7.5 per cent on news that Hertz would pay $US2.3 billion ($A2.22 billion) for the company. Hertz shares gained 8.1 per cent.
On the Nasdaq, Hudson City Bancorp soared 15.7 per cent after announcing a deal to be taken over by M&T Bank Corp. in a $US3.7 billion ($A3.56 billion) cash-and-stocks transaction. M&T added 4.6 per cent.
Hewlett-Packard led the Dow losers, down 2.1 per cent amid ongoing worries about the personal computer market and Apple’s continuing strength in consumer electronics.
Bond prices rallied. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.65 per cent from 1.68 per cent Friday, while the 30-year yield dropped to 2.76 per cent from 2.79 per cent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
