New York (AFP) – U.S. stocks fell modestly in early trade Monday as Wall Street entered the second full week of trade in the new year in restrained mode after an exuberant 2013 rally.
After a half hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 6.68 points (0.04 percent) at 16,430.37.
The broad-market S&P 500 inched down 1.37 (0.07 percent) to 1,841.00 and the tech-rich Nasdaq slipped 4.22 (0.10 percent) to 4,170.44.
Wall Street was showing “some caution ahead of this week’s plethora of key earnings reports,” Charles Schwab & Co. said in a market note.
Yogaware retailer Lululemon plunged 17 percent after lowering its fourth-quarter revenue and earning guidance and highlighting it saw January sales and traffic trends “decelerate meaningfully.”
Fashion retailer Express fell 2.8 percent after lowering its fourth-quarter guidance and reporting weak January traffic to date.
General Motors rose 0.7 percent after signaling it was close to resuming dividends, according to media reports, and its Chevrolet brand won the top car and truck of the year awards at the Detroit auto show.
In merger and acquisition news, Beam, the maker of Jim Beam bourbon, agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Suntory Holdings for $83.50 a share in a $16 billion deal creating the spirit sector’s third-largest player.
Beam skyrocketed nearly 24 percent to $83.06.
Chinese search engine Qihoo 360 Technology rose 5.9 percent after a Stifel upgrade from “hold” to “buy,” saying “2014 is the year of significant search monetization for Qihoo, fueling strong revenue growth and potential upside surprise.”
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped to 2.85 percent from 2.86 percent Friday, while the 30-year was unchanged at 3.80 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
Photo: AFP Photo/Andrew Burton
