Stocks Bob Around the Baseline
Updated from 9:38 a.m. EST
A day before the U.S. elects a new president, stocks on Wall Street were experiencing mixed trading Monday, as traders digested news of several merger setbacks prepared for another week full of quarterly
and turned their eyes toward Tuesday's
.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was lower by 4.1 points at 9321, and the
S&P 500
was down fractionally at 969. The
Nasdaq
gained 4.8 points to 1726.
Financial-sector turmoil continued to hold investors' attention.
The Wall Street Journal
reported that as many as 1,800 public companies could be signing up for investments by the
TheStreet Recommends
under the
.
Meanwhile, leveraged-buyout firm
was delaying plans to come public as the credit crisis hurt its capitalization standing. KKR said in a statement it would hold off on buying Amsterdam-listed
KKR Private Equity
until next year.
Insurance company
Hartford Services Group
(HIG) - Get Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (The) Report
said in a filing with the
Securities Exchange Commission
that it had more than enough capital to keep its double-A credit rating at year-end.
In other merger news,
The Detroit News
reported that
Cerberus Capital
, which owns
, has ceased discussions with
Nissan-Renault
because Cerberus intends on merging with
General Motors
(GM) - Get General Motors Company Report
.
Agricultural products maker
Monsanto
(MON)
announced its intent to buy Brazilian firm
Aly Participacoes
for $290 million.
Less fortunate among agricultural names was
(VSE)
, which said late Friday it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Soft-drink maker
(PEP) - Get PepsiCo Inc. Report
announced it would invest $1 billion in China over the next four years in an effort to gain a foothold in emerging markets.
Airplane manufacturer
(BA) - Get The Boeing Company Report
announced that a strike by the International Association of Machinists had ended after the company and union signed a four-year contract.
As for earnings, insurer
PMI Group
(PMI)
reported a wider third-quarter loss, and
Goodyear Tire
(GT) - Get The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Report
announced a decline in quarterly profit.
In terms of economic data, the Census Bureau reported that construction spending for September declined 0.3%, down from a 0.3% increase in August. Economists were expecting spending to decrease by 0.8%. The Institute for Supply Management's October manufacturing index showed a reading of 38.9, down from 43.5 in September and below economists' forecast of 42.
The European Commission also reported that Europe is probably in a recession and will continue to struggle through the next year.
Shifting to commodities, crude oil was losing $1.77 to $66.04 a barrel. Gold was climbing $12.90 to $731.10 an ounce.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were mixed. The 10-year was up 10/32, yielding 3.93%. The 30-year was dropping 11/32 to yield 4.35%. The dollar was falling vs. the yen but gaining on the euro and pound.
Credit markets were loosening. Three-month dollar Libor, a measure of the rate banks charge one another for large loans, was down 17 basis points to 2.86%. Overnight Libor slipped 2 basis points to 0.39%.
Abroad, European exchanges were mixed, as the FTSE in London lost ground but the Dax held to a fractional gain. In
, Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished on the upside.
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