Stocks set to pull back
Investors appear ready to catch their breath after two-month old rally.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to fall Monday as investors prepared to pull back after Wall Street's two-month old winning streak.
At 8:15 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were lower.
Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.
Stocks have been on a roll since early March. The Dow and S&P 500 have both gained for eight of the last nine weeks, while the Nasdaq has advanced for nine in a row.
"There is a sense out there that the market is a little bit overboard," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners.
But Cardillo said that with the lack of economic reports coming out Monday or any obviously negative market news, there is a chance that stocks could eventually rally.
"For the moment, we're looking at a down open," said Cardillo. "But my guess is that we're headed for a mixed session."
Health care: President Obama is expected to announce Monday that he has secured commitments to pull back healthcare costs from a half dozen trade associations representing unions, hospitals, insurers and drugmakers.
Hamed Khorsand, analyst at BWF Financial, said this might squeeze health care stocks, but it's unlikely to affect the market as a whole.
"Those comments will probably have an impact on the industry itself," said Khorsand. "It's been an overhang [to the healthcare industry] ever since he introduced that proposal at the beginning of the year."
Companies: Activist investor William Ackman is holding a meeting Monday as he moves forward with his battle to replace the Target (TGT, Fortune 500) board. Ackman claims that the company's directors lack expertise in retailing, credit cards, and real estate.
AT&T Inc. (T, Fortune 500) said Friday it is buying the majority of Alltel Wireless assets being sold by Verizon Communications (VZ, Fortune 500). The deal will expand AT&T's coverage in rural areas.
The European Commission is poised this week to fine Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) for abusing its dominant position in the market for semiconductors, sources told Reuters.
Corporate results: After U.S. markets closed Friday, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) posted a steep quarterly loss, as expected. Berkshire said it lost $1.5 billion in its first quarter, compared to a $1 billion profit during the same period a year ago.
Fed: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is slated to speak at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Financial Markets Conference at 7:30 p.m. ET. He is expected to discuss the results of the government's stress tests on banks.
World markets: Asian stocks finished the session at their highest level in seven months. But the momentum didn't carry over to Europe, where major markets were lower in morning trading.
Oil and money: The dollar rose versus the euro and the British pound, but slipped against the yen. The price of oil fell $1.44 a barrel to $57.19. 
