U.S. stocks struggled for direction on Monday after the opening bell as investors hoped to glean clues from the Federal Reserve later this week on the likelihood of rate cuts this year.

The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% to 2,888. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9 points to 26,081. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 7,821.

The U.S. central bank is under pressure to issue dovish language at the upcoming policy update on Wednesday, with a minority of analysts expecting a rate cut as soon as this week.

Dealing a sharp blow to economic sentiment, a plunge in the Empire State manufacturing survey in June to -8.6, from a reading of 17.8 in May, underlined the concerns around slowing growth momentum in the U.S.

In company news, shares of Array BioPharma Inc. surged 59% after the biopharmaceutical company agreed to be bought by Pfizer Inc.

Source : Market Watch