NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are mostly lower in early trading Monday as tensions with Russia escalate. Seven of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell, led by health care. Apple and Herbalife rose.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,291 in the first hour of trading. The S&P 500 fell eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,858. The Nasdaq was down 44 points, or 1 percent, to 4,232.
JITTERS IN EUROPE: Europe markets fell as Russian troops seized Ukrainian ships and military installations after annexing Crimea last week. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 each fell 0.8 percent. Britain’s FTSE-100 fell 0.4 percent.
APPLE UP: Apple rose $5.53, or 1 percent, to $538.05 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks with cable giant Comcast to offer a streaming video service using Apple set-top boxes.
HERBALIFE SURGE: The embattled health supplements company rose $2.96, or 6 percent, to $52.50 after agreeing to allow billionaire Carl Icahn three more directors on its board. Icahn is a supporter of the company in its fight with another famed investor, William Ackman. Ackman accuses the company of operating a pyramid scheme.
CHINA WATCH: Asian markets got a boost on expectations of economic stimulus in China. A report showed that China’s manufacturing fell to an eight-month low in March in another sign of slowing growth in the world’s No. 2 economy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.9 percent and Japan’s Nikkei both gained 1.8 percent
TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.76 percent from 2.74 percent late Friday. Gold sank $17 to $1,318 an ounce. The price of crude oil rose 59 cents to $100.05 a barrel on heightened tensions with Russia and an oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel.
