Dow ekes out 26-point gain as markets trade mixed amid losing streak

May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. markets traded mixed on Monday as they struggled to shake off losses from last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 26.76 points, or 0.083%, after falling as much as 0.83% earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.39% after dropping 0.99% at session lows, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2%.

Markets entered Monday with the Dow Jones posting a seven-week losing streak as of Friday, its longest since 2001, while the S&P 500 has fallen for six weeks straight, its longest decline since 2011.

Tech shares struggled Monday as cloud companies declined, with Cloudfare stock falling 13.59%, Datadog dropping 10.72% and Atlassian easing 6.3%.

Mega-cap tech stocks also declined, with Apple falling 1.07%, while electric car company Tesla dropped 5.88%.

U.S. crude oil prices erased earlier losses to rally more than 3% after weaker-than-expected economic data from China as another wave of COVID-19 restrictions in the country caused retail sales to drop 11.1% and industrial production declined 2.9% year-over-year.

Energy was a bright spot for the S&P 500, with shares of Occidental Petroleum rising 5.68% and Marathon gaining 3.63%.

Amid the Monday's declines the Dow and S&P 500 have fallen 12.3% and 16.3% respectively from all-time highs set in January, while the Nasdaq Composite has fallen more than 27% from its record high in November, placing it in bear market territory.