Stocks Opened Lower, Eyed on Fed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 17.18 points, or 0.10%, to 16,970.33. The S&P 500 was down 5.53 points, or 0.28%, to 1,980.01. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 37.66 points, or 0.82%, to 4,529.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) struck its biggest deal on Monday, acquiring healthcare IT services provider TriZetto Corp for $2.7 billion to beef up its slowing healthcare business.

U.S. healthcare group Danaher Corp. said Monday it will acquire Swiss dental-implant maker Nobel Biocare Holding AG in a cash deal worth about $2.1 billion, to strengthen its position in the dental market.

The OECD slashed its growth forecasts for major developed economies on Monday, urging much more aggressive ECB stimulus to ward off the risk of deflation in a subdued euro zone.

The study by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s shows a significant decline in annual average state tax growth among the 10 most sales tax-dependent states.

Russia’s industrial output growth slowed to zero in annual terms in August, hurt by a drop in manufacturing sector production, data from the federal statistics service showed Monday.