Trader Warren Meyers, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Nov. 7, 2011. Stocks edged higher in choppy trading Monday as investors turned their attention toward mixed headlines out of Europe. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Warren Meyers, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Nov. 7, 2011. Stocks edged higher in choppy trading Monday as investors turned their attention toward mixed headlines out of Europe. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock indexes edged lower in midday trading Monday, reversing earlier gains, as investors worried that Europe's debt crisis would spread to Italy.
Italy's borrowing rates spiked Monday to the highest level since the country adopted the euro. Unlike Greece, Portugal or Ireland ? all of which received financial lifelines ? Italy has too much debt to be rescued by its European neighbors. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has rejected suggestions that he resign to make way for more cost-cutting.
Concerns about Italy outweighed a deal Greece's two main political parties reached over the weekend to share power in a new government. The move increases the likelihood that the country will move ahead with austerity measures it promised to implement as part of a financial rescue agreement with lenders. That relieved investors by reducing the chances of an imminent default by Greece, which would rattle financial markets and cause losses for major European banks.
Europe's debt crisis continued to outweigh relatively good news about the economy and U.S. companies. "Every day it seems like it's the butting of heads between whatever the latest rumor is out of Europe with good economic data and corporate earnings," said Karyn Cavanaugh, a market strategist with ING Investment Management. "It's overshadowing the fact that earnings are on track to be the best year ever."
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 56 points, or 0.5 percent, to 11,926 at noon Eastern. It had been up as many as 68 points in the first half-hour of trading.
The S&P 500 fell 8, or 0.6 percent, to 1,245. Technology and industrial companies led the S&P 500 downward.
The Nasdaq lost 24, or 0.9 percent, to 2,661.
Monday is a relatively quiet day for economic and corporate news in the U.S. The Federal Reserve will report in the afternoon on how much consumers borrowed in September. Economists expect consumers took out an additional $5.4 billion in loans, a sign that households could be more confident in the direction of the economy.
Amgen Inc. rose 4.5 percent to $57.65, the most in the S&P 500 index, after the biotech drugmaker said it would buy back up to $5 billion of its stock. Dish Network Corp. Dish Network Corp. gained 3.8 percent to $24.38 after the satellite TV provider announced a $2 per share dividend and a 30 percent increase in net income. Home Depot Inc. rose 1.8 percent, the most among the 30 stocks in the Dow, after getting upgraded by analysts.
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