NEW YORK: US stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors weighed a flurry of merger and acquisition deals and awaited the details of President Barack Obama's fiscal 2012 budget.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.27 points (0.19 percent) to 12,249.99 around 1500 GTM, while the broad-based S&P 500 index was flat, up 0.01 point at 1,329.16.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 4.64 points (0.17 percent) to 2,814.08.
There were no major economic releases due Monday, but Wall Street was expected to pore over Obama's budget when it is officially published at 10:30 am (1530 GMT).
"A lack of economic news could be eclipsed by several Merger Monday deals -- including a new acquisition for General Electric Co. -- while many on the Street are looking ahead to the release of President Obama's budget," said Joseph Hargett at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
GE announced Sunday that its oil and gas business unit had agreed to buy the John Wood Group's well-support division for about $2.8 billion. The deal with the British-based firm is expected to close this year. GE shares rose 1.09 percent to $21.56.
Mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility leaped 4.51 percent to $29.75 after revealing it was buying Three Laws Mobility (3LM), a software firm that specializes in security for businesses using Google's Android mobile operating system.
Satellite television operator EchoStar rose 2.11 percent to $29.24. The company will acquire Hughes Communications, down 4.37 percent at $59.07, for about $2.0 billion.
Boeing slipped 0.12 percent to $72.04. The aerospace giant on Sunday unveiled its 747-8 Intercontinental, a longer and more fuel-efficient version of its jumbo jet, aimed at competing with the Airbus A-380.
Wall Street's hesitant trading came after the major indices closed the week Friday with solid gains amid optimism about the US economy and cautious relief that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak bowed to demands for his resignation.
The Dow rose 0.36 percent last week to its highest close since mid-June 2008, clinching a ninth week of gains in the past 10 weeks.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.55 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.68 percent.
The bond market edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond slipped to 3.62 percent from 3.65 percent late Friday. The 30-year bond's yield fell to 4.67 percent from 4.71 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
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