Investing.com - U.S. stock markets edged modestly lower after the open, as markets consolidated gains after U.S. equities hit multi-year highs last week, while shares in Apple were in the spotlight after announcing plans for a quarterly dividend and a share buyback plan.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased down 0.15%, the S&P 500 index dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite index was flat.
With little major economic or corporate news slated for Monday, market attention shifted to Apple, the world’s second most valuable company.
Apple shares rose 1.85% after announcing plans to spend nearly USD45 billion of its USD98 billion cash hoard over three years to offer a USD2.65 a share quarterly dividend in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2012. It is the first time the company has offered a dividend since December 1995.
The consumer electronics giant also launched a USD10 billion share repurchase program to begin September 30.
The moves had been widely anticipated, after the company announced Sunday that it would “announce the outcome of the company’s discussions concerning its cash balance” in a conference call Monday morning.
“We can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
The company’s stock has gained about 45% since the first of the year, and briefly hit a new all-time high of USD600 last week.
On the downside, Sprint shares tumbled 3.5% after research firm Sanford C. Bernstein called a bankruptcy filing “a very legitimate risk” in downgrading the wireless carrier to ‘underperform’.
Online retail giant eBay declined 1.1% after Citigroup downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’.
In deal news, U.S. shipping giant United Parcel Service added 1.75% after saying it has reached an agreement to acquire Dutch package shipper TNT Express in a deal valued at nearly USD6.8 billion.
JP Morgan upgraded the stock to ‘overweight’ following the confirmation of the deal. Analysts called the acquisition a "big win" for UPS, saying the company should see "significant" additions to its earnings in 2013 and 2014 from the TNTE deal.
Shares in AboveNet rallied 13.6% after it agreed to be bought by private equity firm Zayo Group for nearly USD2.2 billion, a 13% premium over AboveNet's closing price last Friday.
Shares in software developer Adobe Systems dipped 0.7%. The company was set to release company earnings after Monday’s closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets remained lower, amid ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis.
Greece is expected to get an installment of an emergency international bailout later in the day. However, worries about Europe's debt crisis remain, amid renewed concerns over the fiscal health of Portugal.
Earlier in the day, chief executive of investment fund Pimco said the country will need a second bailout.
The EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.65%, Germany's DAX fell 0.55%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.3%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.95%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.1%, as exporters rose on the back of a weaker yen.
Later in the day, the U.S. National Association of Home Builders was to publish a report on home sales.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased down 0.15%, the S&P 500 index dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite index was flat.
With little major economic or corporate news slated for Monday, market attention shifted to Apple, the world’s second most valuable company.
Apple shares rose 1.85% after announcing plans to spend nearly USD45 billion of its USD98 billion cash hoard over three years to offer a USD2.65 a share quarterly dividend in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2012. It is the first time the company has offered a dividend since December 1995.
The consumer electronics giant also launched a USD10 billion share repurchase program to begin September 30.
The moves had been widely anticipated, after the company announced Sunday that it would “announce the outcome of the company’s discussions concerning its cash balance” in a conference call Monday morning.
“We can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
The company’s stock has gained about 45% since the first of the year, and briefly hit a new all-time high of USD600 last week.
On the downside, Sprint shares tumbled 3.5% after research firm Sanford C. Bernstein called a bankruptcy filing “a very legitimate risk” in downgrading the wireless carrier to ‘underperform’.
Online retail giant eBay declined 1.1% after Citigroup downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’.
In deal news, U.S. shipping giant United Parcel Service added 1.75% after saying it has reached an agreement to acquire Dutch package shipper TNT Express in a deal valued at nearly USD6.8 billion.
JP Morgan upgraded the stock to ‘overweight’ following the confirmation of the deal. Analysts called the acquisition a "big win" for UPS, saying the company should see "significant" additions to its earnings in 2013 and 2014 from the TNTE deal.
Shares in AboveNet rallied 13.6% after it agreed to be bought by private equity firm Zayo Group for nearly USD2.2 billion, a 13% premium over AboveNet's closing price last Friday.
Shares in software developer Adobe Systems dipped 0.7%. The company was set to release company earnings after Monday’s closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets remained lower, amid ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis.
Greece is expected to get an installment of an emergency international bailout later in the day. However, worries about Europe's debt crisis remain, amid renewed concerns over the fiscal health of Portugal.
Earlier in the day, chief executive of investment fund Pimco said the country will need a second bailout.
The EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.65%, Germany's DAX fell 0.55%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.3%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.95%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.1%, as exporters rose on the back of a weaker yen.
Later in the day, the U.S. National Association of Home Builders was to publish a report on home sales.