Stocks Opened Little Changed

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Monday as investors assessed a number of earnings reports and await a report on new-home sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 21.85 points, or 0.12%. to 17,624.85. The S&P 500 was off 7.16 points, or 0.35%, to 2,067.99. The Nasdaq Composite was down 14.55 points, or 0.29%, to 5,017.32.

Duke Energy will spend about $4.9 billion in cash to acquire Piedmont Natural Gas, adding about a million new customers in the Carolinas and Tennessee.

FedEx Corp. (FDX) said on Monday that it expects shipments during the holiday period between the Black Friday and Christmas Eve to rise 12.4% above year ago levels to 317 million shipments.

Xerox Corp. said Monday it would launch a comprehensive review of its options, as the company posted its first quarterly loss since 2010 on a hefty charge.

The Pep Boys–Manny, Moe & Jack’s stock (PBY), the auto parts retailer, agreed to be acquired by Bridgestone Americas Inc. in a deal valued at $835 million in cash. As part of the deal, Bridgestone, which is the U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp., will pay $15 for each Pep Boys share outstanding.

Oil edged higher on Monday as investors prepared for a week of important economic indicators. Brent, the international benchmark, was up 25 cents at $48.24 a barrel at 0937 GMT, 11 percent below this month’s high. U.S. crude futures traded up 24 cents at $44.84 a barrel.