US close: Mixed performance on the Street amid concerns about global growth

US stocks turned in a mixed but broadly unchanged performance on Monday as concerns about global growth reappeared and Apple revealed it was entering the video streaming market at its eagerly-awaited "It's Showtime!" press event.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.06% at 25,516.83. However, the S&P 500 was down 0.08% at 2,798.36 as the Dow slipped 0.07% to 7,637.54.

The Dow closed just 14 points higher after US justice department special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that US President Donald Trump did not collude with Russia during the campaign for the 2016 presidential elections, but did not exonerate him from allegations that he might have obstructed justice.

In a letter sent to Congress following a 22-month long probe, US attorney-general William Barr said Mueller “did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or co-ordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election”.

However, on whether Trump obstructed justice, in the letter delivered on Sunday afternoon, Barr said: “The special counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it does not exonerate him'."

James Hughes, chief market analyst at Axi Trader, said: "Donald Trump may have been cleared of conspiring with Russia in the 2016 election campaign, but that has done nothing to boost sentiment in equity markets, with the mounting threat of recession proving far more pervasive."

Elsewhere, the yield on the 10-year treasury note fell to its lowest level since December 2017 in Monday, as investors continued to be concerned about global growth and a slowdown in the US economy.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was lower at 2.388%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury note and the 3-month yield were also lower at 2.233% at 2.454%, respectively.

In oil, West Texas Intermediate was 0.15% lower at $58.95 per barrel, while a barrel of Brent Crude was exchanging hands 0.30% higher at $67.23 each.

In corporate news, shares in technology giant Apple were down 1.21% after the Californian firm unveiled a new streaming service in conjunction with cable television providers HBO and Showtime. Industry giant Netflix was up 1.45%.

Elsewhere, Viacom shares traded 6% higher following reports that it and AT&T were continuing negotiations to avert a programming blackout that would leave more than 24 million pay-TV customers without channels like Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.

Winnebago shed some earlier gains and was down 0.41% despite the manufacturer of motor homes' second-quarter profit came in ahead of analysts' expectations.

On the data front, the Chicago Fed national activity index edged down last month after January's figure was upwardly revised.

February's national activity index came in at -0.29 after January's -0.43 reading was revised to -0.25.

Two of the four broad categories of indicators decreased from January, and three of the four categories made negative contributions in February.

The three-month moving average edged down to –0.18 from a neutral reading the month prior.

Elsewhere, the Dallas Fed manufacturing business index dropped to 8.3 in March, above the reading of 7.0 which economists had been expecting.

"The general business activity index remained positive but fell five points to 8.3," the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said on Monday.

The production index remained steady at 11.5, while to new orders slumped to 2.4 from the 6.9 reading seen a month earlier and into negative territory for the first time since December 2016.

The shipments index declined five points to 5.8, while the capacity utilisation index moved up four points to 10.9.