Stocks were seeking direction in the first hour of trading, with Chinese trade data in danger of bringing a seven-day party to an end.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up two points at 17,134 and the Nasdaq Composite was five points to the good at 4,844, while the S&P 500 was just a tad below last night’s closing level at 2,017.
Data showed China's imports falling about a fifth, down for the 11th month in a row. The drop, the steepest in almost three years, cast more doubt over the health of Asia's economic powerhouse.
September imports dipped by a bigger-than-expected 17.7% in yuan-denominated terms, while exports fell 1.1% from a year earlier, according to official figures.
The trade figures seem to have upset overseas markets more than it has US investors, with mergers & acquisitions developments putting a bit of fizz into proceedings.
London-listed SABMiller (LON:SAB) has agreed, at the fourth time of asking, to walk up the aisle with Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD), owner of the Budweiser brand in the US.
The two brewers agreed a £44 per share deal with a partial share alternative, valuing SABMiller at £68bn.
Speculators looking around for the next big consolidation development in the brewing sector have chased up the share price of Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) to US$87.40, up $US8.625.
Healthcare leviathan Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) found the market hard to please, as it beat earnings expectations and raised its outlook for the year.
Post-tax profit came in at US$3.36bn, down from US$4.75bn the year before, on sales of US$17.1bn, down 7.4% year-on-year and below the market consensus forecast of US$17.5bn.
Adjusted earnings per share of US$1.49 topped market expectations of US$1.43, but the shares were down 13 cents at US$95.86, despite the company unveiling a monster US$10bn share repurchase program.
Humana (NYSE:HUM), a health and well-being company, reaffirmed its guidance for the third quarter and the full year, perking up the shares a little; they now trade at US$185.26, up 3.7%.
In contrast, FMC (NYSE:FMC) shares have come under pressure after the chemicals company reduced its Agricultural Solutions business unit’s earnings guidance for the third quarter and the year as a whole to take into account the decline in value of the Brazilian currency, the real.
The shares were off 4.6% at US$35.84.
Companies reporting after the bell today include computer chip giant Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and investment banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM).
On the subject of JPMorgan, Jes Staley, a former JPM banker, is reportedly set to take over at the helm of British bank Barclays (LON:BARC).