NEW YORK: US stocks fell Monday as wary markets kept an eye on political changes in Greece and Italy aimed at tackling the eurozone debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 24.29 points (0.20 percent) to 12,129.39 in the first hour of trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 5.24 points (0.41 percent) to 1,258.61, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged down 1.17 points (0.04 percent) to 2,677.58.
The economics calendar was bare Monday, "while political uncertainty in Europe continues to garner attention," Charles Schwab analysts said.
Investors digested news that Italy continued to pay high rates to borrow a day after economist Mario Monti was name to succeed Silvio Berlusconi as Italy's prime minister.
Greece's new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, faced the task of implementing security measures needed to secure the next installment of an international bailout loan.
Tycoon investor Warren Buffett revealed that his Berkshire Hathaway investment firm has bought a 5.5 percent stake in IBM since March worth more than $10 billion., paying an average price of $170 a share.
Berkshire's most widely traded "B" shares fell 1.0 percent to $76.18; IBM shares added 0.8 percent to $188.81.
Boeing surged 2.6 percent to $68.65 after winning big orders at the Dubai Airshow that opened Sunday.
Oman Air said it was buying six of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner jetliners, a day after Emirates Airlines announced orders for 50 long-range Boeing 777-300ER passenger jets, with options to buy 20 more, in a deal the carrier valued at $26 billion.
Embattled Bank of America slipped 0.4 percent to $21.11 after announcing it will sell the bulk of its shares in China Construction Bank in deals expected to net an after-tax gain of about $1.8 billion.
The cautious sentiment on Wall Street followed a strong relief rally Friday on news of a transition government in Greece and the Italian Senate's approval of austerity measures.
The bond market dipped after Friday's closure for the Veterans Day public holiday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 2.07 percent from 2.06 percent Thursday, while that 30-year Treasury's yield rose to 3.13 percent from 3.11 percent.
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