US stocks were fairly uninspired on Monday and the Dow Jones ended up around just 15 at 21,409.
The tech heavy Nasdaq however, lost ground, finishing down 18 points at 6,247.
The broad based S&P 500 was near flat - adding 0.03% to 2,439.
In Toronto, the TSX also finished in the red - down 3.54 at 15,316. In London earlier, FTSE 100 closed around 22 ahead as the Tory minority government finalised its deal with the Northern Ireland political party the DUP.
Retailer Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) saw shares add just shy of 2% to $160.20 as finnacial firm Raymond James raised the rating on the stock to 'outperform' from 'market perform'
The sell-off of Costco directly after Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) deal to buy Whole Foods Market Inc had created a good buying opportunity.
The target price was put at $173.
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US stocks were generally higher at mid-session, but tech stocks fell back, and there were some possible warnings about the pace of US growth.
Orders for durable goods fell in May for the second month in a row - and was the biggest drop in six months, according to official government statistics.
Orders slipped 1.1% last month following a similar drop in April, it emerged.
On top of low inflation and low crude prices, it all puts the Fed's tightening strategy on a less secure footing, say some.
The Dow Jones is up 39 at 21, 434, while the S&P 500 added four points to 2,442.
The Nasdaq index lost almost 5 points to stand at 6,260.
US crude added 0.77% to stand at $43.34 a barrel.
In company news, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares gained 0.04%,while Arconic (NYSE:ARNC) went the other day, down 5.99% to $24.01 after it was hit by a report saying that it made the material used for the cladding of the Grenfell Tower in London.
Elsewhere, Sparton Corporation (NYSE: SPA) shares jumped almost 20% as Ultra Electronics PLC (LON:ULE) has confirmed it is in advanced discussions to acquire the US move.
Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: SRNE) shares surged 15% after its subsidiary Semnur Pharma issued an update on 'successful' Phase 1/2 trial.
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US stocks started higher, with US crude creeping higher and the Dow Jones 94 higher.
The S&P 500 gained over ten points to stand at 2,449, while the Nasdaq is up 32 at 6,297.
US crude is 0.37% higher to stand at $43.17 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX is up 39 points at 15, 358.
In stocks, Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC) is the biggest loser on the S&P 500 as it was reported by Reuters that the US firm, formerly called Alcoa, supplied flammable panels for use at London's Grenfell Tower, which was the site of a huge inferno two weeks ago.
Shares plummeted 6.66% to $23.84.
Top gainer was Micron Technologies (NASDAQ: MU), which added over 3% to $32.72 each.
Arconic knowingly supplied flammable panels for use in London tower: emails https://t.co/B1cx5ciAVy pic.twitter.com/Gm5hAtEsGN
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) 24 June 2017
PREVIEW....
US stocks are set to start the new trading week on the front foot, as European equites rise and the oil price is on the up.
Investors are also awaiting data on durable goods orders for last month (May) and Chicago Fed National Activity Index for May will be released later this morning.
Friday on Wall Street saw fairly topsy turvey trading wih stocks falling before ending the session mixed.
The Dow Jones finished down 2.53 at 21,394; the S&P 500 added 3.8 to 2,438, while the tech heavy Nasdaq added 28 to stand at 6,264.
Today, futures trading is pointing firmly higher. with the Dow Jones up 64 points; the S&P 500 almost six points ahead and the Nasdaq up over 21.
Global themes set to remain this week is the continued question of Brexit, as the UK minority government led by Conservative Prime Minister has now finally struck a deal with the Northern Irish group the DUP.
It comes as the British Chambers of Commerce revealed at the start of the week that it expects UK growth over the next few years to remain what it a called "anemic" as the UK is due to reveal the details of the proposed rights of EU citizens living in Britain after the so called Brexit.
In company news , retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NASDAQ: WMT) shares are down 0.90% in pre-market, as it emerged it was not considering making a bid for Whole Foods Market Inc, according to a Reuters source Of course this is the company that has been the subject of a bid from e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Last week it emerged the latter was putting splashing out US$13.7bn for the group, making it Amazon’s biggest ever transaction, dwarfing the US970mln it paid in 2014 for games developer Twitch Interactive.
Also in the news, the hedge fund run by activist investor Daniel Loeb Third Point, has reportedly taken a stake worth $3.5 billion in Swiss giant Nestle, which saw shares rise almost 4%.