U.S. Stocks Mixed ahead of Key Economic Reports

Wall Street stocks were mixed early Monday ahead of key economic data this week updating the state of the U.S. economic recovery from the coronavirus downturn. 

Equities last week received support from progress on President Biden's infrastructure package and a series of appearances from Federal Reserve officials that were seen as reassurances that a major about-face in U.S. monetary policy is not imminent.

On the downside, the Delta variant of Covid-19 is garnering more attention after it prompted new restrictions in Australia.

"The markets remain focused on the timing of global monetary policy tightening but appear to be taking recent signs of inflation in stride," according to a market note from Charles Schwab.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent at 34,309.48.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.1 percent to 4,278.28, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 percent to 14,436.76.

This week's calendar includes reports on consumer confidence and an index of U.S. manufacturers, as well as the June jobs report.