Stocks sputter after rallyMajor gauges struggle for direction after last week's big run; M&A news, oil prices, in focus.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks struggled at the open Monday, as investors eyed rising oil prices and showed some caution after last week's stellar run up. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 3.44 to 12,650.05, Charts) lost a few points in the early going after hitting an all-time high late last week. The broader S&P 500 (down 2.86 to 1,445.53, Charts) index was little changed after hitting a more than six-year high last week. 
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 1.25 to 2,474.63, Charts) added a few points. Stocks were mixed Friday at the end of an otherwise upbeat week in which the Dow gained 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.7 percent. After such a run, investors were a bit wary Monday, particularly amid higher oil prices. U.S. light crude oil for March delivery rose 72 cents to $59.74 a barrel in electronic trading. Monday brought a number of merger and acquisition reports. Among the standouts, Triad Hospitals (up $6.58 to $49.85, Charts) agreed to a $4.7 billion private equity buyout offer. State Street (down $3.36 to $68.39, Charts) said it was buying Investors Financial (up $14.12 to $61.07, Charts) for $4.5 billion in stock. Lear Corp. (up $4.40 to $39.07, Charts) said that an affiliate group of shareholder Carl Icahn has offered to buy the company for $36 a share, or about $2.4 billion. Lear is a supplier of automotive interior systems. Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.81 percent from 4.82 percent late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and fell versus the yen. A report on the services sector of the economy is due shortly. |
|
