Stocks Opened Slightly Lower as U.S. Shutdown Extended

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday, as a partial government shutdown stretched into a third day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 37.80 points, or 0.14%, to 26,033.92. The S&P 500 was up 2.77 points, or 0.10%, to 2,813.07. The Nasdaq Composite added 12.16 points, or 0.17%, to 7,348.54.

Oil prices inched higher on Monday, boosted by comments from OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia that the cartel and other major oil producers could extend their cooperation beyond 2018. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for February rose 7 cents to $63.44 a barrel. The March contract picked up 2 cents to $63.33 a barrel.

American International Group (AIG) on Monday said it would buy Validus Holdings (VR) for $5.56 billion in cash to strengthen its reinsurance business, the company’s first deal under Chief Executive Brian Duperreault.