US stocks drifted near unchanged in light, uneven trading today as Wall Street struggled to return to normal a day after the largest electrical blackout in North American history.
Trading is expected to be sluggish throughout the session as thousands of people struggled to get to work. Parts of New York and its suburbs were still without electricity a day after the power outage left huge swaths of the eastern seaboard of the US in darkness.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average edged up 3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,313. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index eased 0.92 of a point, or 0.09 per cent, to 989. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1 point, or 0.09 per cent, to 1,698.
The University of Michigan said it was delaying the release of its preliminary reading of August consumer sentiment until Tuesday, due to the blackout.
Dell, the leading personal computer company, jumped 80 cents, or 2.5 per cent, to $32.19. The company reported its fifth consecutive quarter of year-on-year profit improvement but said technology demand was not greatly improved but has stabilised.