US stocks closed lower on Monday as investors turned cautious ahead of the start of the earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.71 points, or 0.19%, to finish at 12,197.88. The S&P 500 dropped 3.61 points, or 0.27%, to close at 1,310.19. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 12.38 points, or 0.45%, to 2,730.68.
A release by Commerce Department on Thursday showed that order for durable goods fell 0.9% in February. Economists had expected the durable orders to rise 1.5% last month.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) jumped 10 cents, or 2.14%, to $4.78 after the third-largest US wireless carrier said that the AT&T Inc.'s planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA from Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG. ould create a duopoly market for U.S. wireless services dominated by AT&T and Verizon Wireless. "On behalf of our customers, our industry and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly," Sprint said in a statement Monday.
Shares of RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) rallied 71 cents, or 4.97%, to $15.01 after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded it rating on the company from Hold to Buy.
European stocks finished little changed. The UK FTSE rose 3.73 points, or 0.06% to 5,904.49. The German DAX slipped 0.11% while French CAC increased 0.12%.
Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 lost 57.60 points or 0.60% to 9,478.53. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong dropped 90.48 points or 0.39% to 23,068.19.
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