Stocks Off to Flat Start
Updated from 9:07 a.m. EST
A day before the U.S. elects a new president, stocks staged a flat open 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 down 1.5 points at 9323, and the
S&P 500
was lower by 1.9 points at 967. The
Nasdaq
slipped 1.6 points to 1718.
Looking through corporate headlines,
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.
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 is set to release its construction spending figures for September. Also due out is the Institute for Supply Management's October manufacturing index.
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 $1.73 to $66.08 a barrel. Gold was climbing $8.70 to $726.90 an ounce.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were mixed. The 10-year was up 15/32, yielding 3.91%. The 30-year was dropping 6/32 to yield 4.34%. 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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