U.S. Stocks Tilt Lower Before Home Sales Data
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks on Monday fell before data that could signal further shakiness in the housing market and word blue chip Home Depot had cut the price at which it's willing to sell off its wholesale-supply unit, signaling a harsher financing climate.
"Things are extremely quiet this morning ahead of the home sales. We're not confident that these results will exceed expectations," said Mike Malone, trading analyst at Cowen & Co.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 47.9 points to 13,331, with 25 of its 30 components trading lower, with General Motors Corp. leading the losses, with its stock off 1.2%.
The S&P 500 declined 5.79 to 1,473.58 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 6.27 points to 2,570.42.
Volume at the New York Stock Exchange came to 81.6 million shares, with declining stocks topping advancers 9 to 5. At the Nasdaq, volume came to nearly 100 million shares, and decliners beat advancing stocks 7 to 5.
The Wall Street Journal reported Home Depot Inc. has agreed to sell HD Supply for $8.5 billion, about 18% less than the price initially reached only two months ago. Its stock rose 1.9% in early trade.
Shares of Altria Group Inc. , also a Dow industrials component, climbed 1.6%. The New York Times reported over the weekend that Altria, parent of Philip Morris, will meet Wednesday to consider spinning off the overseas division of its cigarette business.
In economic data, the National Association of Realtors will release existing-home sales numbers for July at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting a slight dip of about 1% to 5.69 million, would which mark the lowest sales pace in nearly five years.
On the M&A front, Taiwan's Acer Inc. has agreed to buy Gateway Inc. for $710 million, or $1.90 a share -- a 57% premium to Friday's closing price. Share of Gateway, the fourth-largest personal-computer maker in the U.S., soared 50.5%.
Also, Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. has agreed to buy Lummus Global from engineering-services giant ABB for $950 million.
And in a deal announced late Sunday, United States Steel Corp. is buying Canada's Stelco Inc. for C$38.50 a share, or C$1.1 billion.
Other markets
Crude-oil futures fell, as a lower open on Wall Street weighed on sentiment. Leading the pullback in energy, natural-gas futures fell 5%, while crude oil for October delivery dropped 49 cents to $70.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In foreign exchange, the dollar fell slightly against Japan's yen but rose against its European rivals in early New York trading. The Japanese currency was down 0.4% at 116.03 yen, while the euro was off 0.15% at $1.3656.
Gold futures edged lower, reversing the metal's strong prior-session gains, with gold for December delivery falling $2.40 to stand at $675.10 an ounce on the NYME.
Overseas, Hong Kong was the big winner as Asian stocks made broad gains overnight.
In Europe, the French CAC 40 index added 0.8% with more modest gains in Frankfurt. U.K. markets were closed for a bank holiday.
On Friday, U.S. stocks ended sharply higher after an unexpected rise in new-home sales helped drive hopes that the worst of the subprime mess could be over, with the Dow gaining 143 points and the S&P 500 adding 16.9.
By Kate Gibson