- 20Dec
(Reuters) - Stocks drifted on Monday as investors were reluctant to push stocks higher after briefly touching another high for the year.
The dollar rose against other major currencies while the euro fell, hitting a record low against the Swiss franc and a two-week low versus the greenback as investors fretted over euro zone debt problems.Investors were reluctant to push stocks higher after a run of solid economic data, which has pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 benchmark index up 5.4 percent for the month and 11.6 percent for the year.
"We are a little elevated here. We've got a little bit of a nosebleed going," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.
Among several deal announcements, AT&T Inc (T.N) said it would buy wireless spectrum licenses from Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) in a deal worth $1.9 billion. Qualcomm rose 0.3 percent to $49.59. AT&T dipped 0.5 percent $29.05.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 29.90 points, or 0.26 percent, to 11,462.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 0.34 points, or 0.03 percent, to 1,244.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXICdropped 0.62 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,642.35.
U.S. markets will be closed on Friday to observe the Christmas Day holiday on Saturday.
Dow component Boeing Co (BA.N), down 2.7 percent to $63.27, kept indexes in check. Traders cited reports the plane maker's troubled Dreamliner may be delayed once again, which could put its contracts in jeopardy with airlines.
"It sounds like some of the airlines are getting sick of the delays in this Dreamliner and that is why it is down." added Massocca.
Raytheon Co (RTN.N) shed 0.4 percent to $44.99 after the defense contractor said it will acquire Applied Signal Technology Inc (APSG.O) for $490 million. Applied Signal shares rose 7.9 percent to $37.80.
Underscoring expectations of strong holiday spending, U.S. online sales are up 12 percent to $27.5 billion so far this season compared with a year ago.
Shares of Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE.O), which reports quarterly results later in the day, were up 1.9 percent to $29.34.
Food and beverage company Sara Lee Corp (SLE.N) has been in talks to sell itself to Brazilian meat producer JBS (JBSS3.SA), but the two companies are at odds over price, a source said. Sara Lee shares rose 1.4 percent to $17.50.
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