S&P 500 starts new week modestly lower

• Wall Street's main indexes opened with small losses on Monday.
• S&P 500 Technology Index is rising modestly in early trade. 

Major equity indexes in the US started the new week on the back foot as investors are assessing the potential impact of rising coronavirus infections on the economy. As of writing, the S&P 500 was down 0.27% on the day at 3,090 points while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite were both losing 0.15%. 

Investors ignore upbeat US data

Earlier in the day, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's National Activity Index improved to 2.61 in May from -17.89 in April. Moreover, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow argued that they were not witnessing a second wave of coronavirus but acknowledged that there were some hot spots.

Regarding the next coronavirus relief package, "we would like to see the coronavirus aid move toward longer-term economic growth incentives," Kudlow said.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index is up 0.55% on the day as the top-performer. On the other hand, the Healthcare Index is down 1.13%.