Stocks Slightly Higher in Early Trade

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks were marginally higher in early trading Monday, recovering slightly from last week's steep declines. Japan's market fell sharply.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,805 as of 10 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,070 and the Nasdaq composite was relatively unchanged at 4,775.

JAPANESE DISAPPOINTMENT: Japan's Nikkei stock index fell more than 3 percent overnight as markets reopened after a holiday. The market fell as Japanese investors continued to react negatively to the Bank of Japan's decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The Japanese yen also continues to climb sharply, which hurts Japanese exporters.

CALLED OFF: Halliburton rose after a $34 billion merger with Baker Hughes was called off following antitrust concerns from the Justice Department. Halliburton rose 93 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $42.21. Baker Hughes was little changed at $48.

GET AN EDUCATION: Apollo Education Group, which runs the University of Phoenix, is rising sharply after a group of investors raised their bid for the company. Apollo rose 66 cents, or 8.4 percent, to $8.46.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 71 cents to $45.20 per barrel in New York. The contract lost 11 cents on Friday. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, fell $1.03 to $46.34 a barrel in London.

BONDS, CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.86 percent from 1.82 percent late Friday. The dollar slipped to 106.67 yen from 106.73 yen while the euro strengthened to $1.1508 from $1.1454.

(KA)