Flat opening
U.S. stocks are trading close to the flat line after the open, following news of major developments on the merger and acquisition front.
At 10:05 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 2.88 points, or 0.35 percent, to 826.54. Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,558.97.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has agreed to sell its plastics business to Saudi Arabian chemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corp. for $11.6 billion in cash. News of the deal first broke on Friday, May 18. GE is set to receive $9 billion in after-tax proceeds.
In other business news, private equity group Blackstone Group LP will go public and raise $7.75 billion by selling stock to the general public and the Chinese government. Blackstone will offer as many as 153.3 million shares for $29 to $31 each to raise $4.75 billion, and give an 8% share to the Chinese government for $3 billion.
Elsewhere, news reports this morning are claiming that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) may drop its bid for Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ) due to the disapproval of the ruling Bancroft family.
The following are the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:
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| 9:58 et | Change | Change | Volume | Year High | Year Low |
