U.S. stock indexes edged mostly lower in morning trading Monday as traders returned from the Thanksgiving holiday. Energy stocks were the biggest laggard as crude oil prices headed lower. Technology stocks also fell. Retailers posted solid gains on reports the holiday shopping season is off to a strong start. Several companies were also moving on deal news.
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KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 2,600 as of 11:27 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 25 points, or 0.1 percent, to 23,583. The Nasdaq composite slipped 15 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,873.
RETAIL RISING: Several retailers moved higher as the holiday shopping season moved into high gear. Shoppers are expected to spend $6.6 billion on Cyber Monday, up more than 16 percent from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, the research arm of software maker Adobe. Amazon added $18.56, or 1.6 percent, to $1,204.56. L Brands climbed $1.65, or 3.4 percent, to $50.01. Gap picked up 58 cents, or 2 percent, to $30.22.
TIMELY DEAL: Better Homes & Gardens publisher Meredith said Sunday that it will buy Time for $1.8 billion, or $18.50 a share. To get the deal done, Meredith got $650 million from Koch Equity Development. Time surged $1.55, or 9.2 percent, to $18.45, while Meredith gained $6.50, or 10.7 percent, to $67.50.
GOING PRIVATE: Barracuda Networks jumped 16.3 percent after the cloud-based security company agreed to be taken private. The stock rose $3.86 to $27.55.
FIRED UP: Firearms makers rose on indications of strong gun sales on Black Friday. American Outdoor Brands, the parent of Smith & Wesson, picked up 21 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $13.49. Sturm, Ruger & Co. added $1.25, or 2.5 percent, to $51.20.
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NOT SO CHIPPER: Shares in chipmakers were among the market’s laggards, led by Western Digital. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, sliding $6.36, or 6.9 percent, to $86.42.
BONDS: Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 2.34 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.15, or 2 percent, to $57.80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 44 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $63.03 in London.
The slide in crude prices weighed on energy stocks. Marathon Oil lost 52 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $14.62.
CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 111.08 yen from 111.58 yen. The euro fell to $1.1919 from $1.1927.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 0.1 percent, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.1 percent lower. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent, while Seoul’s Kospi fell 1.4 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.6 percent. India’s Sensex lost 0.2 percent and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 edged up 0.1 percent.
