Stocks Get Bogged Down
Updated from 4:14 p.m. EDT
Wall Street was sluggish for much of the session Monday and ended narrowly mixed as traders coming off a long holiday weekend decided to keep their powder dry ahead of the start of earnings.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
added 8.94 points, or 0.07%, at 12,569.14, and the
was up 0.85 point, or 0.06%, at 1444.61. The
Nasdaq
eased 2.16 points, or 0.09%, to 2469.18, ending its win streak at six.
For the most part, stocks were never able to gather any upward momentum despite a number of factors that were, at least theoretically, positive: a solid jobs report, speculation about a mammoth buyout and a plunge in oil prices.
"Valuations of the markets remain high, investor sentiment is also high, and interest rates are rising -- a triple threat that may prevent the markets from rising significantly from here," said Paul Nolte, director of investments with Hinsdale Associates.
"For now, safe is better than sorry," he continued. "We may miss some of whatever upside exists, but we don't want to participate in the inevitable decline."
U.S. stocks have started the second quarter on an upbeat note. Last week, the Dow jumped 1.7%, the S&P 500 rose 1.6% and the Nasdaq climbed 2.1%.
About 2.36 billion shares changed hands on the
, with advancers matching decliners. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.74 billion shares, and winners outpaced losers 9 to 7.
As a new week got under way, the market opened higher following a report from the U.K. that a group of investors might be preparing to bid for
Dow Chemical
(DOW) - Get Free Report
. The deal could be worth $50 billion and would be the largest leveraged buyout in history. Dow Chemical added 4.9% to close at $46.63.
Rumors that such a proposal was a possibility first emerged several weeks ago after Texas utility company
TXU
undefined
reached an agreement to be taken over in a massive LBO.
To view Aaron Task's video take on today's market, click here
.
Meanwhile, a strong employment report Friday was supporting the notion that the economy is running at a healthy clip. The stock market was closed that day for a holiday, but the Labor Department still issued its monthly jobs report.
According to the government, 180,000 workers joined payrolls in March, about 50,000 more than expected, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4% from 4.5% the prior month.
Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer with Oaktree Asset Management, said the data had investors worried about inflation and the possibility that the
won't be inclined to lower interest rates.
"Now, without the likelihood of a rate cut, it puts into question what is in store for the economy," he said. "The markets are also a bit cautious as we enter into the earnings season."
After Tuesday's close, Dow component
Alcoa
(AA) - Get Free Report
unofficially kicks off the quarterly crush of reports. Also this week are
Genentech
(DNA)
and
General Electric
(GE) - Get Free Report
, among others.
In the absence of any fresh economic data, Treasury prices tumbled. The 10-year note was off 16/32 in price, yielding 4.75%, and the 30-year bond was losing 21/32, yielding 4.92%.
Elsewhere, commodities were mostly lower. Crude oil sank $2.77, or 4%, to $61.51 a barrel, while gold finished down by $2.50 at $676.90 an ounce. Silver also fell, but copper eked out a gain.
Back on the corporate side, Dow component
Citigroup
(C) - Get Free Report
plans to acquire Taiwan's Bank of Overseas Chinese for about $426 million in cash. The stock edged higher by a penny to close at $51.58.
Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) - Get Free Report
gained 3.8% despite a warning that first-quarter revenue will fall short of estimates. AMD rose after saying it plans to restructure its business model and cut capital spending.
AMD tacked on 49 cents to $13.35. Rival
Intel
(INTC) - Get Free Report
was higher by 2.7% at $20.10.
Rail concern
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
(BNI)
was higher after a
Securities and Exchange Commission
filing stated that billionaire investor Warren Buffett's
Berkshire Hathaway
(BRK.A) - Get Free Report
has purchased a 10.9% stake in the company, making it the largest shareholder.
Shares of Burlington Northern ended up 6.5% to $88.08. Other freight railway names also finished higher.
Union Pacific
(UNP) - Get Free Report
rose 3.8%,
Norfolk Southern
(NSC) - Get Free Report
gained 3.8%, and
CSX
(CSX) - Get Free Report
added 2.2%.
Subprime lender
American Home Mortgage Investment
(AHM)
slid 15.2% after the company slashed its first-quarter and full-year earnings forecasts by more than 25%. American Home also reduced its dividend by 37.5% to 70 cents a share. Shares were down $3.92 at $21.92.
Overseas, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% at 17,743. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was closed for a holiday, as were most European bourses.
