Stocks: Dow ends the day in positive territory
Stocks cut earlier losses and ended mostly positive Monday as the Dow broke a three-day losing streak.
Investors were bracing for a busy week of earnings and economic data and several corporate deals were also in focus.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.1% to 16,982.59 after being down almost 85 points in morning trading.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose a fractional 0.03% to 1,978.91 while the Nasdaq composite index lost 0.1% to 4444.91.
In corporate deals announced Monday:
• Shares of both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar rose after Dollar Tree announced it is buying its rival for $8.5 billion. Family Dollar surged 24.9% to end the day at $75.74 and Dollar Tree ended up 1.2% to $54.87.
• Real estate website Zillow said it is buying Trulia for $3.5 billion in stock. Trulia shot up 15.4% to $65.04 and Zillow gained 0.9% to $160.32.
In another sign the housing market rebound is still tentative, the National Association of Realtors reported its pending home sales index dropped 1.1% in June. It was the first drop in four months.This week investors will be eagerly awaiting a batch of important economic reports to see if the recovery is gaining strength. The government will release its first estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday and the July employment report on Friday. Federal Reserve policymakers begin a two-day meeting Tuesday and will release a statement on the economy and monetary policy Wednesday afternoon.
Earnings season continues all week as about 300 companies release second-quarter results. Tuesday will see profit reports from Pfizer, Merck and Twitter.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 extended Friday's gains, adding 71.53 points, or 0.5%, to close at 15,529.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and the Shanghai Composite also gained, with the Hang Seng surging 212.62 points, or 0.9%, to 24,428.63 and the Shanghai Composite soaring 51.33 points higher, or 2.4%, to 2177.95.
European benchmarks ended mixed, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.1% to 6788.07, Germany's DAX down 0.5% to 9598.17 and France's CAC-40 up 0.3% to 4344.77.
Friday, stocks closed out the week lower. The Dow fell 123.23 points, 0.7%, to 16,960.57 and the S&P 500 dropped 9.64 points, 0.5%, to 1978,34. The Nasdaq fell 22.54 points, 0.5%, to 4449.56.