By Kristina Peterson, MarketWatch

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday as investors prepared for the White House's 2012 budget proposal to show a jump in the projected deficit.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slipped 28 points, or 0.2%, to 12,245. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) shares led the declines, falling 1%. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) shares were also weak, down 0.9%.

Keeping the Dow's losses in check, General Electric Co. (GE) rose 1.1% after agreeing to buy the well-support division of U.K. firm John Wood Group PLC for $2.8 billion in cash to bolster its oil and gas services business in areas like extracting natural gas from shale.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) edged up less than one point to 2810. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index (SPX) shed 0.1% to 1,328.

Investors on Monday waited for details of President Barack Obama's budget proposal for fiscal year 2012, which will be released at 10:30 a.m. EST. The White House projected that the federal deficit would spike to $1.65 trillion in the current fiscal year, the largest dollar amount ever, fueled in part by a tax-cut extension that the president and Republican lawmakers brokered in December.

A stronger dollar weighed on stocks Monday morning as the euro sank to a three-week low against the dollar. Worries about the strength of German bank WestLB added to renewed euro-area sovereign concerns, sending the euro to $1.3455, down from $1.3560 late Friday in New York.

Meanwhile, Asian equities were largely higher, boosted by a surge in Chinese imports last month.

Among stocks in focus, MGM Resorts International (MGM) fell 2.8% after the casino company's fourth-quarter loss narrowed significantly from a year earlier but revenue declined and revenue per available room fell on the Las Vegas strip.

U.S.-listed shares of Nokia Corp. (NOK) dropped 4.1%, extending their Friday decline after the telecom equipment maker announced a partnership with Microsoft. J.P. Morgan Cazenove downgraded Nokia to underweight from overweight, saying that "the degree to which the [Microsoft] deal is beneficial to Nokia is still unclear." On Monday Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop said the company hopes to launch its first smartphone based on Microsoft's Windows Phone platform this year.

Seahawk Drilling (HAWK) shares tumbled 56% after the firm said late Friday it would file for bankruptcy protection and sell its assets to Hercules Offshore (HERO) , whose shares rose 21%.

Demand for U.S. Treasurys declined, pushing yield on the 10-year note (UST10Y) up to 3.66%. Crude-oil prices edged down, while gold futures advanced.