US stocks again ended mixed yesterday as the price of oil continued to nosedive thanks to the strong dollar. Energy companies took the biggest losses as US crude hovered around 40 dollars a barrel, its lowest price in almost four months.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 28 points to close at 18,405. And the Standard & Poor’s 500 index 500 shed 3 points to 2,171. But the Nasdaq composite rose 22 points to 5,184. The Nasdaq was boosted by appetite for tech giants, including a 1.8 percent jump in shares of Apple.