Investing.com - U.S. stocks were lower on Monday, as investors eyed developments in the euro zone after weekend elections in Greece and France raised concerns that recent austerity plans could fall apart.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.29%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.11% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.09%.
Investors remained cautious after weekend election results in Greece threw the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt and fuelled fears over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Neither of the country’s two pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a government, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against harsh austerity measures.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate François Hollande, who has said he wants to renegotiate the euro zone fiscal pact in order to stimulate growth in the region.
General Motors saw shares retreated 0.45% after the car maker and its China joint ventures sold 227,217 vehicles in the country in April, up 11.7% from a year earlier.
In company news, Talbots tumbled 1.08% after the women's apparel retailer received a raised takeover bid of USD215 million from private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
Meanwhile, imagery company DigitalGlobe rejected a USD792 million takeover offer from rival GeoEye on Sunday saying the hostile bid substantially undervalued the company and its financial prospects. The news sent DigitalGlobe down 6.20% and GeoEye dropping 3.34%.
In the media sector, Liberty Media lost 0.59% after the FCC turned aside an application by the company to take control of Sirius XM Radio, calling the application “defective” and “not warranted.”
Liberty owns convertible preferred shares which could be turned into a 40% stake in the satellite radio operator.
In addition, Comcast shares edged down 0.07% after saying that NBCUniversal (the parent of CNBC.com) is exercising an option to sell most of its stake in the A&E cable channel, and that the deal would likely close in the second half of the year.
The transaction would be worth about USD2 billion.
On the upside, U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher as shares in Bank of America jumped 2.07% and JP Morgan climbed 0.79%, while Goldman Sachs added 0.72%.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.87%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.28%, while markets in the U.K. were closed for a bank holiday.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted 2.85%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 2.85%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.29%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.11% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.09%.
Investors remained cautious after weekend election results in Greece threw the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt and fuelled fears over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Neither of the country’s two pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a government, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against harsh austerity measures.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate François Hollande, who has said he wants to renegotiate the euro zone fiscal pact in order to stimulate growth in the region.
General Motors saw shares retreated 0.45% after the car maker and its China joint ventures sold 227,217 vehicles in the country in April, up 11.7% from a year earlier.
In company news, Talbots tumbled 1.08% after the women's apparel retailer received a raised takeover bid of USD215 million from private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
Meanwhile, imagery company DigitalGlobe rejected a USD792 million takeover offer from rival GeoEye on Sunday saying the hostile bid substantially undervalued the company and its financial prospects. The news sent DigitalGlobe down 6.20% and GeoEye dropping 3.34%.
In the media sector, Liberty Media lost 0.59% after the FCC turned aside an application by the company to take control of Sirius XM Radio, calling the application “defective” and “not warranted.”
Liberty owns convertible preferred shares which could be turned into a 40% stake in the satellite radio operator.
In addition, Comcast shares edged down 0.07% after saying that NBCUniversal (the parent of CNBC.com) is exercising an option to sell most of its stake in the A&E cable channel, and that the deal would likely close in the second half of the year.
The transaction would be worth about USD2 billion.
On the upside, U.S. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher as shares in Bank of America jumped 2.07% and JP Morgan climbed 0.79%, while Goldman Sachs added 0.72%.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.87%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.28%, while markets in the U.K. were closed for a bank holiday.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted 2.85%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 2.85%.