Stocks Mixed ahead of Manufacturing Data

U.S. stocks started a new month with tentative losses on Tuesday ahead of data on the manufacturing sector that could offer evidence on the pace of the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 10.52 points to 13,203.11. The S&P 500 was up 0.37 point to 1,398.28. The Nasdaq Composite rose 5.42 points at 3,051.79.

P.F. Chang’s is being acquired and taken private by a private equity firm in a deal valued at about $1.09 billion. Under the terms of the agreement released Tuesday, New York’s Centerbridge Partners LP will buy shares of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. for $51.50 each. The cash offer represents a 40 percent premium over the company’s Monday closing stock price.

Sears Holdings Corp., (NASDAQ:SHLD) the Hoffman Estates, Ill., retailer, estimated its first-quarter earnings from continuing operations at $1.46 to $1.84 a share. The numbers reflect about $235 million of after-tax gains from sales of certain U.S. and Canadian stores, Sears said in a Tuesday statement before its annual meeting, which is set for Wednesday.

Chrysler Group LLC said on Tuesday that U.S. sales hit 141,165 units in April, a 20% jump from the same period a year ago.. “April was another strong month for Chrysler as our sales increased 20%, we recorded our 25th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth and we reported our strongest quarterly profit in 13 years,” Reid Bigland, President a – Dodge Brand and Head of U.S. Sales,nd CEO said in a press release.