By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market ended Monday's
choppy trading session marginally higher.
The main benchmarks dipped in and out of negative territory as
investors weighed upbeat economic reports and deal news against
concerns over escalating sectarian violence in Iraq.
Over the weekend, militants in Iraq tweeted out images
supporting a claim they had executed hundreds of Shiite Iraqi
soldiers. The killings were not verified, according to reports.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 1.62 points, or 0.1%, higher at
1,937.78. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) ended the day up 10.45
points, or 0.2% at 4,321.11, helped by a 1% gain in Apple Inc.
(AAPL), its biggest component.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 5.27 points to
16,781.01.
Read the recap of MarketWatch's live blog of today's
stock-market action.
Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth
Management, said that given the recent gains on the S&P 500,
stocks are in pause mode.
"From the technicals standpoint, markets are slightly extended
and until the earnings season we expect stocks to trade sideways
with the downward bias," Sandven said.
Fresh data from the factory sector showed that manufacturing
remained a bright spot in the U.S. economy at the end of the second
quarter.
Manufacturing activity in the New York region held steady in
June after hitting an almost four-year high in May, the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.
Industrial production bounced back in May after a drop in April
that wasn't as bad as initially estimated.
Home builders' confidence rose in June to the highest level in
five months, but respondents were still a bit pessimistic,
according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo
housing-market index released Monday.
Merger Monday
Covidien PLC (COV) shares soared 20% to $86.75 after Medtronic
Inc. (MDT) announced Sunday that it plans to buy the Ireland-based
company in a $42.9 billion deal. The cash-and-stock offer would be
valued at $93.22 per Covidien share. Medtronic shares fell 1.1%.
Medtronic, big health companies look to dodge U.S. taxes
Shares of Bluebird Bio Inc. (BLUE) soared 32% to $34.46 after
the company reported promising preliminary data on experimental
gene therapy for patients with inherited blood disorders.
Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) shares dropped 4% after the
company said Monday it agreed to acquire TW Telecom Inc. (TWTC) in
a deal worth about $7.3 billion, including the assumption of $1.6
billion in debt. Level 3 said it secured committed financing valued
at $3 billion.
TW Telecom shares increased 7.3%.
Fusion-io Inc. (FIO) shares surged 22% after SanDisk Corp.
(SNDK) on Monday agreed to buy Fusion-io in an , or $11.25 a
share.
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) dropped 5.7% after Chinese Internet company
Alibaba reported slowing revenue growth for the year. Yahoo owns
24% of Alibaba.
Twitter Inc. (TWTR) shares rose 3% on Monday and were up for 6th
day in a row, its longest streak as a public company.
In other markets, European stocks fell after a weekend of
increasing violence in Iraq. Japanese stocks fell in a mixed
session for Asia as Iraq worries pushed the Japanese yen (USDJPY)
higher against the dollar.
Oil prices (CLN4) held steady but near nine-month highs Monday,
while gold(GCQ4) settled slightly higher.
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