NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are edging modestly lower in early trading as investors look over the latest deal and earnings news. Sliding oil prices pulled stocks in energy companies lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 97 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,444 as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,092, and the Nasdaq composite lost 29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,111.
CREAMED: Keurig Green Mountain plunged 27 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500, after reporting falling sales of its packaged coffee and brewing products. The company said it plans to lay off 5 percent of its workforce in a bid to cut costs. Its stock dropped $22.07 to $52.92.
CRUDE: Benchmark U.S. crude dipped 74 cents to $44.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, an international benchmark, fell 35 cents to $49.24 a barrel in London.
PUSHY: Mondelez International gained 1 percent after the activist investor Bill Ackman revealed a nearly 8 percent stake in the maker of Ritz crackers and Oreo cookies. Ackman’s stake raised speculation of more mergers among big packaged food makers. Mondelez rose 60 cents to $46.91.