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US stocks are little changed in early trading after holiday

FILE - This July 15, 2013, file photo, shows a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. Global stock markets were mostly lower Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, as investors looked ahead to this week's public appearances by the U.S. Federal Reserve chief for signs of whether the central bank will raise interest rates in December. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
FILE - This July 15, 2013, file photo, shows a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. Global stock markets were mostly lower Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, as investors looked ahead to this week's public appearances by the U.S. Federal Reserve chief for signs of whether the central bank will raise interest rates in December. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks were marginally lower in early trading Monday as traders returned from the Thanksgiving holiday. Investors are focused on the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve, as well as preliminary data out of Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 26 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,772 as of 10:21 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost three points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,087 and the Nasdaq composite edged down two points, or 0.05 percent, to 5,124.

INTEREST RATES: The European Central Bank is widely expected to give the region’s economy another dose of stimulus as it tries to keep a recovery going and get inflation closer to 2 percent. The stimulus is likely to include increasing the amount banks have to pay to park money at the ECB, giving them an incentive to lend it out instead.

IN CONTRAST: While the ECB moves toward increasing stimulus, the Federal Reserve is getting ready to start raising interest rates for the first time since June 2006. A series of U.S. economic reports this week, culminating with Friday’s jobs survey for November, could cement investors’ expectations for a rate hike at its meeting in mid-December.

CURRENCY IMPACT: The expected policy divergence between the two central banks has weighed on the euro and sent the dollar higher. On Monday the euro fell to $1.0578, its lowest level since April. It traded at $1.0591 late Friday.