US stocks flat as Dell buys EMC

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened little-changed Monday as computer giant Dell announced it was buying data-storage giant EMC Corporation for US$67 billion.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,081.82, down 2.67 points (0.02 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.67 (0.08 per cent) to 2,013.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.20 (0.05 per cent) at 4,832.67.

EMC gained 2.8 per cent on news of its buyout by privately held Dell, which aims to position itself as a leader in cloud computing and other increasingly important technology businesses.

Key earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase, General Electric and others are on the calendar later this week.

AFP