04:00 PM EDT, 08/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended lower Monday amid recession concerns as investors awaited the week's major corporate earnings.

* The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported a weaker-than-expected jobs report for July, stoking concerns about a potential recession.

* However, multiple analysts said recession fears are overblown as recent labor market data aren't as bad as they seem, while income growth continues to support spending.

* Two surveys painted a mixed picture of the US services sector for July, with the Institute for Supply Management's data showing that activity expanded more than expected, while S&P Global ( SPGI ) indicated a slight deceleration in growth.

* September West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down $0.12 at $73.41 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.03 at $76.78.

* Kellanova ( K ) shares jumped 16% following media reports that Mars, the company behind M&M's and Snickers, was considering buying the snacks maker.

* Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 7% following a media report that said the company's new artificial intelligence chips could be delayed due to design issues, potentially affecting major customers such as Microsoft ( MSFT ) , Meta Platforms ( META ) and Alphabet's (GOOG) Google ( GOOG ).