U.S. stocks mixed amid Fed, debt jitters; Dow Jones up 0.05%

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Monday, as fresh uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus program before the year end coupled with U.S. debt concerns led investors to remain cautious. 

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased up 0.05%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.19%, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.45%. 

U.S. stocks remained supported after the Fed last week said it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program.

The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting the U.S. central bank to cut its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program by USD10 billion to USD15 billion.

However, investors remained cautious after St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Friday said the decision not to taper in September was “close” and indicated that there could be a small reduction in bond purchases in October. 

Separately, U.S. budget talks were continue this week with the aim of passing a resolution to fund government beyond October 1. 

In the tech sector, BlackBerry plunged 4.50% after the smartphone maker on Friday announced preliminary second-quarter results that disappointed market expectations. 

The company also said it will cut approximately 4,500 jobs, or nearly 40% of its workforce, as part of a massive restructuring plan. 

On the upside, Apple saw shares surge 5.26% after the company announced that sales for its new iPhone had set a record, with a record 9 million smartphones sold within the first few days of its launch. 

In addition, the tech giant said there were more than 200 million downloads of its new iOS 7 platform. 

Among Internet-related stocks, Facebook slid 0.82% after hitting record highs on Friday, when Cowen upgraded the social-networking giant to "outperform" from "market perform" and lifted the price target to USD53 from USD29. 

Other stocks likely to remain in focus included Microsoft, expected to introduce its next-generation tablets at an event in New York City. 

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.67%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.42%, Germany's DAX shed 0.33%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.45%. 

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.56%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index remained closed for a national holiday. 

Also Monday, data showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to a six-month high of 51.2 in September, up from 50.1 in August. Economists had forecast a reading of 50.9.