US Stocks Waver in Early Trade
(AP) -- Major U.S. stock indexes wavered between small gains and losses in early trading Monday, as investors pored over the latest batch of company earnings news. Energy stocks were down the most as crude oil prices headed lower. Utilities bucked the downward trend and were trading higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was up 10 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 18,147 as of 10:26 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 1 point to 2,134. The Nasdaq composite index inched up 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,219.
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ENERGY SLUMP: Several energy companies were trading lower. Southwestern Energy was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, sliding 53 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $12.37. Chesapeake Energy fell $2.31, or 3.4 percent, to $66.36. Devon Energy shed $1.17, or 2.7 percent, to $41.91.
TOY STORY: Hasbro surged 7.3 percent after the toy maker delivered better-than-expected revenue in its latest quarter. The stock climbed $5.54 to $81.67. Traders also sent shares in rival Mattel higher. The company, whose products include Barbie dolls, rose 63 cents, o3 2 percent, to $30.72.
DEAL BUMP: SuperValu climbed 4 percent after the grocery store and logistics company agreed to sell its Save-A-Lot unit to Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. for $1.37 billion.
OVERSEAS MARKETS: The major stock indexes in Europe were down as a broad rise in government bond yields suggested investors are expecting less central bank stimulus and higher interest rates than before. Germany's DAX was down 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 fell 0.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent. Earlier in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 wobbled but finished 0.3 percent higher. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.8 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent. The SET of Thailand dropped 0.2 percent. Other markets in Southeast Asia were mostly lower.
ENERGY: U.S. benchmark crude oil was down 78 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $49.57 a barrel in New York. It lost 9 cents on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 61 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $51.34 a barrel in London.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.78 percent from 1.80 late Friday. In currency markets, the dollar weakened to 103.99 yen from 104.18 on Friday, while the euro strengthened to $1.0998 from $1.0983.
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