S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged higher in a choppy session on Monday amid soft manufacturing sector data and as a glitch on the NYSE briefly caused trading halts in dozens of equities.

A glitch at the New York Stock Exchange had triggered massive swings in the shares of Berkshire Hathaway and Barrick Gold. Trading in at least 60 NYSE-listed stocks was halted due to the volatility, before the bourse fixed the technical issue and activity resumed.

Benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished higher after paring earlier losses on the sesson, while the Dow lost ground. Technology stocks were the biggest gainers, while energy equities were the biggest drag.

Markets had weighed data showing US manufacturing activity had slowed for the second straight month, raising concerns of weakening economic growth.

"It's one of those days where people are waiting for the next catalyst with a choppy move after earnings," said Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services in Atlanta.

"There's bit of a tug of war between the market seeing weakening data and the expectation that the Fed may cut rates," Lerner added.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.30 percent, to 38,571, the S&P 500 gained 0.11 percent, to 5,283 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.56 percent, to 16,829.

Nvidia rose 4.9 percent after CEO Jensen Huang revealed that the company's next-generation AI chip platform would be rolled out in 2026.

Shares of other megacaps, including Apple, Amazon , Alphabet, and Meta closed higher. Microsoft and Tesla finished lower.

GameStop soared 21 percent after a weekend Reddit post from stocks influencer Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty", showed a US$116 million bet on the gaming retailer.

Investors will be eyeing a data-packed week that includes surveys on the services sector, factory orders and Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report, which could provide clues to the Fed's likely course of action with regards to rates. (Reuters)