Forexpros – U.S. stocks were lower on Monday, after globally weak U.S. economic data while investors remained cautious amid sustained concerns over the handling of the sovereign debt crisis in Spain.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.14%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.43%, while the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 0.40%.
Official data showed earlier that the U.S. core personal consumption expenditure index rose broadly in line with market expectations in March, while personal spending rose less-than-expected.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said its seasonally adjusted core PCE price index rose by 0.2% in March, in line with expectations, after rising by 0.1% in February.
The report also showed that personal spending rose 0.3% in March, below expectations for a 0.4% gain. Personal spending for February was revised to a 0.9% increase from a previously reported 0.8% gain.
A separate report showed that a purchasing managers’ index for Chicago fell to 56.2 in April, the lowest level since November 2009, from a reading of 62.2 the previous month. Analysts had expected the PMI to fall to 60.9 in April.
Meanwhile, concerns over the economic outlook for Spain re-remerged after official data confirmed that the country’s economy entered a recession in the first quarter, with gross domestic product contracting by 0.3% in the three months to March and 0.4% year-on-year.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in Bank of America tumbled 0.85% and Citigroup retreated 0.84%, while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan lost 0.11% and 0.12% respectively.
Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, also added to losses, edging down 0.05% after quitting an offshore Brazilian exploration project three years after failing to find oil. Rival group Chevron saw shares fall 0.14%.
Elsewhere, shares in aircraft giant Boeing plunged 1.18% although China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd said earlier Monday that it agreed to buy 20 new Boeing B777-300ER aircraft valued at USD5.94 billion, based on the 2011 price catalog.
On the upside, Sunoco soared 19.51% as Energy Transfer Partners announced it will acquire the oil company in a cash and stock deal worth USD5.3 billion in an aim to focus on transporting more crude oil and refined products on the heels of declining natural gas prices.
Adding to gains, Barnes & Noble skyrocketed 80.19% after Microsoft said it will invest USD300 million in the bookstore chain’s digital and college businesses. The new deal will give Microsoft a 17.6% stake in the new unit and sent shares in the software company up 0.19%.
Also in corporate news, Pall Corp. added 0.31% after saying it will sell some of its blood collection, filtration and processing product lines to Haemonetics for about USD550 million. Shares in Haemonetics surged 4.24% after the news.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plummeted 1.17%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.22%, Germany’s DAX fell 0.36%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.66%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 1.7%, while markets in Japan remained closed due to a national holiday.
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