Falling commodity prices and financial shares dragged on blue chips overnight, leading to a mixed result on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial fell 41 points to 9,779. The S&P500 Index lost 4 points to 1,065 but the NASDAQ inched higher, adding 5 points to 2,138.
On the economic news front, a survey by the Conference Board found the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.6% in August – missing forecasts for a rise of 0.7%.
In company news: AIG (NYSE:AIG) shares rallied 21.27% to US$48.40, after a Congressional report said the company has stabilized although it was unclear whether it would ever be able to pay back the US$182 billion it received under the federal bailout.
Lennar (NYSE:LEN) shares fell 3.14% to US$16.02 as the home builder reported a wider quarterly loss than expected but also said it will be profitable next year if the economy remains stable.
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) shares lost 4.07% to US$16.01 after it was revealed that the PC maker is buying Perot Systems (NYSE: PER) – a provider of information technology services, in a US$3.9 billion all-cash deal.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) shares finished the day 1.8% lower at US$52.46. The company admitted that dealer sales of its heavy machinery, engines and turbines fell 48% in August, though many markets showed signs of stabilization.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The standout performer overnight was Apollo Group, adding 8.29% to US$74.74, followed Celegene and Activision Blizzard. On the downside, Dell was the worst performer. Applied Materials and Pharmaceutical Product Development also closed lower.
