UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Mike Bird and Gunjan Banerji 

Major U.S. stock indexes were mixed Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 posting their third straight session of declines while the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record.

U.S. stock-trading volumes were below 2017's daily average.

Some investors said they were awaiting a string of earnings results this week and a policy statement from the Federal Reserve due Wednesday. Economists don't expect a change in U.S. interest rates, but the central bank could announce the beginning of its balance-sheet reduction.

The Dow industrials fell 66.90 points, or 0.3%, to 21513.17. The S&P 500 shed 2.63 points, or 0.1%, to 2469.91. The Nasdaq Composite rose 23.05 points, or 0.4% to 6410.81 -- a fresh record -- helped by gains in biotechnology shares.

Shares of toy makers were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 and its consumer-discretionary sector after Hasbro's quarterly results disappointed investors. The owner of Monopoly, whose stock is up 35% so far this year, posted sales growth that fell short of what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Shares of Hasbro fell $10.95, or 9.4% to $105.00 -- posting the biggest percentage decline in the S&P 500 on Monday -- and Mattel declined 83 cents, or 3.8% to 20.80.

A number of technology heavyweights are scheduled to report earnings this week, including Facebook and Amazon.com.

"Some of the nervous traders are dipping and ducking" in anticipation of earnings, said Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer of Aviance Capital Management. "As goes earnings at the moment, so goes the market."

Also Monday, shares of utilities companies fell alongside U.S. government bond prices. The rate-sensitive sector slid 0.9%, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.253% from 2.232% Friday. Yields rise as prices fall.

The dollar was steady after the WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against 16 others, fell to its lowest close since Sept. 30 on Friday. Concern about policy direction from the White House and Capitol Hill since the failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act and investigations into contacts with Russians before November's election have helped fuel dollar selling.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.2%, weighed down by a 1% drop in Britain's FTSE 100 and a 0.3% drop in Germany's DAX.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.6% lower, with export-reliant companies posting some of the biggest declines as the yen strengthened. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5% after its nine-session winning streak ended Friday.

Write to Mike Bird at Mike.Bird@wsj.com and Gunjan Banerji at Gunjan.Banerji@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2017 17:33 ET (21:33 GMT)

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