Encouraging signs of growth in the global economy gave support to the U.S. currency and kept declines in U.S. and European equities in check. But the better-than-expected pick-up in the U.S. service sector pushed bond yields to near two-year highs, according to Reuters. The S&P 500 has risen for five of the past six weeks, gaining more than 7 percent over the period. The index closed at an all-time high on Friday despite a disappointing read on the U.S. labor market. Given that advance, further gains may be difficult at these levels, analysts said, especially with the corporate earnings season largely over. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 58.07 points, or 0.37 percent, at 15,600.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 3.30 points, or 0.19 percent, at 1,706.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.41 points, or 0.09 percent, at 3,686.18. European shares provisionally closed up 0.1 percent at a two-month high, while the MSCI world equity index slipped 0.1 percent. Some investors took last week's weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report as an indication that the Fed was likely to hold steady with its monetary stimulus program, though Monday's service sector data tempered that view somewhat. -- SPA 20:42 LOCAL TIME 17:42 GMT تغريد
