New York  - Major US indices were mixed on Monday pushed down by health care shares and lower prices for commodities.

But remarks by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman caused shares to edge up late in the day when he told the London School of Economics that the recession might end this summer, Bloomberg financial news reported.

"I would not be surprised if the official end of the US recession ends up being, in retrospect, dated sometime this summer," he was quoted as saying. "Things seem to be getting worse more slowly. Theres some reason to think that were stabilizing."

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.36 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 8,764.49. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 0.95 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 939.14. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 7.02 points, or 0.38 per cent, to
1,842.40.

The dollar gained against the euro to 71.93 euro cents from 71.59 euro cents on Friday. The dollar fell against the Japanese currency to 98.47 yen from 98.64 yen. (dpa)