Stocks wobble at the open
Major indexes fluctuate in early trade as investors focus on possible IndyMac sale and higher oil prices.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were mixed Monday morning as investors returned for the final few trading days of 2008.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index were both up a few points shortly after the opening bell. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) was down a few points.
Stocks drifted higher Friday in a thinly traded session, but all three major indexes are down sharply for the year.
The Dow is down nearly 36% versus last year. The S&P 500 has tumbled 40.5% and the Nasdaq is off 42% year to date.
Monday's session was expected to be quiet, with many market participants on the sidelines celebrating the year-end holidays. The markets will be closed Thursday for New Year's Day.
In Europe, markets reopened after an extended Christmas break, with London up more than 2%, Frankfurt up nearly 2%, and Paris up nearly 1% in morning trading. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.1%.
Oil rose amid concerns about the Middle East following Israel's military action against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Crude futures rose $1.31 to $39.02 a barrel.
The financial sector was in focus early Monday amid reports that a consortium of private equity and hedge fund firms is close to a deal to buy the assets of failed mortgage lender IndyMac. The company's bank unit was seized by the government in July in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history.
In corporate news, two of the nation's top automakers, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler, will take possession of the first part of the $13.4 billion in emergency loans from the government.
Kuwait decided Sunday to scrap a deal to form a $17.4 billion petrochemical joint venture with Dow Chemical (DOW, Fortune 500). The decision is a big blow to Dow, which had hoped to use some of the proceeds to repay some of the $13 billion in debt it's assuming in the acquisition of Rohm & Haas, due to be completed in 2009.
Other markets: The dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.
COMEX gold for February delivery was up $5.4 to $876.60 an ounce.
Gasoline prices fell 0.8 cent to a national average of $1.619 a gallon, according to a survey of credit-card swipes released Monday by motorist group AAA.
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