NEW YORK, Feb 4 — Wall Street stocks were mixed early today and largely holding onto January’s gains ahead of economic data and earnings later in the week.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3 percent at 24,986.81.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.2 per cent to 2,699.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent to 7,7276.40.

Analysts said a pause was not surprising given that US stocks had been rallying since late December amid reassurances from the Federal Reserve on monetary policy and hopes of a US-China trade deal.

Advertisement

Key earnings this week include Google parent Alphabet, Disney and General Motors, while the economic calendar includes the monthly Institute for Supply Management survey on the services sector companies and data on the US trade balance that had been delayed due to a month-long government shutdown.

Battery-technology company Maxwell Technologies shot up 49.5 per cent after announcing it had agreed to be acquired by Tesla Motors for about US$218 million (RM891.6 million) in stock. Tesla fell 1.1 per cent.

Papa John’s surged 10.7 per cent after announcing that activist investor Starboard Value would invest US$200 million in the company and install two Starboard-affiliated directors, including Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith as Chairman. — AFP

Advertisement