Stocks Opened Lower after Greece Elections

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday, as investors weighed the election results in Greece which brought an antiausterity party to power. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 82.26 points, or 0.47%, to 17,590.34. The S&P 500 was down 7.10 points, or 0.35%, to 2,044.72. The Nasdaq Composite shed 17.31 points, or 0.36%, to 4,740.56.

Greece’s Syriza party gained the key backing needed to form a government Monday, creating a surprise alliance with a small right-wing party that signals possible confrontation over the country’s bailout.

Oil prices turned positive on Monday, erasing early losses after the Secretary-General of the OPEC producer group said he expected the market to bottom out around current levels. March Brent crude (LCOc1) was trading at $49.13 per barrel by 1317 GMT, up 34 cents, bouncing from an early low of $47.57.

Apple (AAPL) reports the results of its all-important holiday quarter on Jan. 27 and the risks are rising for shareholders. Wall Street is looking for Apple to report earnings per share of $2.59, a 25% increase from a year ago, and revenue of $67.3 billion, which would be a gain of 17%, the biggest quarterly revenue jump in revenue in two years.

AT&T Inc. said Monday that it has reached a deal with NII Holdings Inc. to buy Nextel Mexico for about $1.88 billion, the telecom giant’s latest big step into the Mexican market. The acquisition will give AT&T (T) a network that covers about 76 million people in the Mexican wireless market.

British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group is a step closer to taking over Aer Lingus after the Irish carrier said its board is considering a sweetened takeover offer from its bigger rival.