By Anna Isaac

U.S. stocks regained ground Monday after early losses as investors digested new home-sales numbers amid a backdrop of rising coronavirus-infection rates in some states.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 50 points, or 0.2%, in morning trading. Earlier losses were led by Boeing and American Express. The S&P 500 also gained 0.2%.

The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, wavered between losses and gains in the early minutes of Monday's session. It was recently up 0.1%.

Stocks are attempting to continue last week's rally, during which all three indexes ended the week up 1% or more. However, looming uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, relations between U.S. and China and the November election have begun to weigh more heavily on investors.

A widespread rally among U.S. stocks, extending beyond the large-cap technology companies that initially sparked a bounceback, has helped the major equity benchmarks erase most of their losses for this year. And technical measures are now suggesting that stocks have more scope to climb in the months ahead. That comes even as data shows that infections have picked up pace in Arizona, South Carolina, Florida and Texas.

"The momentum is running out for the liquidity-induced rally that we've seen in the past few weeks. It needs fuel from central banks and I don't think we'll see that soon," said Steen Jakobsen, chief economist and investment officer at Saxo Bank. "The market expects a U-based recovery, but that doesn't allow for the drop in activity that will eventually come when furlough and other support schemes run out at the end of July and August."

Even so, there have been signs of recovery. Jobless claims figures have eased in recent weeks, suggesting that the American labor market may be recovering faster than economists had expected, though unemployment remains at historic levels. Investors, meanwhile, are also looking to a mix of conventional and unconventional indicators of economic activity such as restaurant reservations, hotel occupancy rates, retail-store traffic and airline travel figures to gauge consumers' appetite for spending as lockdown measures ease.

"The data is suggesting that households are starting to feel confident again about going about their business," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. "As long as the rise in the coronavirus cases doesn't put them off, then the economic recovery in the second half of the year may be stronger than anticipated."

The Trump administration is preparing for a fresh wave of cases, according to White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. A second wave of infections isn't necessarily expected, but the government is stockpiling drugs and equipment in case infections resurge in the fall, Mr. Navarro said Sunday.

Shortly after the opening bell, American Airlines fell 6.1%. The U.S. carrier said Sunday that it plans to raise $3.5 billion in debt and equity to boost its liquidity and help maintain operations through the pandemic. Rivals United Airlines Holdings and Delta Air Lines also dropped.

In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury ticked down to 0.678%, from 0.696% Friday.

Figures on U.S. existing-home sales, released at 10 a.m. ET, were expected to show a fall in May for the third straight month as lockdowns and layoffs took a toll on the economy.

In Europe, oil-and-gas companies and travel and leisure stocks were among the worst performers. That left the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 wavering between gains and losses before it edged down 0.9%.

Payments company Wirecard plunged 43%, making it the worst performer among major European stocks. The troubled German business said early Monday that the $2 billion that banks were supposedly holding on its behalf probably doesn't exist.

Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways's parent, International Consolidated Airlines Group, were also among the biggest losers in the region Monday. Lufthansa faces opposition from a major shareholder for its planned bailout agreement with the German government, according to Adrian Yanoshik, senior analyst at Berenberg Bank. The German airline fell 4%.

Speculation that IAG may seek to raise additional capital is driving its stock lower, Mr. Yanoshik said. The airline sector in Europe was also facing pressure following reports of an uptick in the infection rate for coronavirus in Germany, he added. IAG dropped 5.2% in London.

In Asia, most major equity benchmarks dropped by the close of trading. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was among the biggest losers, down 0.5%. India's S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, gained 0.5%.

-- Caitlin McCabe contributed to this article.

Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com