US stocks close lower
Sprint Corp down; Mattel up
TSX up
US stocks finished lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones off 85 at 23,348.
The broader based S&P 500 lost 8.24 at 2,572, while the tech heavy Nasdaq was down 2.30 at 6,698.
It comes as the political scene in Washington was very much in focus. Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has indicted three former members of President Trump's election campaign, raising the prospect of more charges to come.
In Toronto, the TSX added over 49 points to stand at 16,002.
US crude added 0.43% to US$54.13 a barrel.
MID-SESSION
US stocks slipped further into the red at mid-session
It came as a Bloomberg report suggested that the House of Representatives was considering phasing in proposed cuts to corporate taxes over five years.
It is thought Wall Street shares had been boosted in recent days due to the thinking such pro-business moves would come in soon.
The Dow Jones lost over 79 points to 23,354.
The S&P 500 shed 9.27 at 2,571, while the Nasdaq lost 12.95 at 6,688.
The oil price - West Texas Intermediate - added 0.33% to stand at US$54.08 per barrel.
On S&P 500, the toy maker Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) added 10.25% to US$15.44 - gaining the most it has for more than a year after bleak quarterly results last week has renewed speculation that it may be better off as a takeover target.
READ THE LONDON CLOSE HERE - FTSE 100 closes in red as pound strengthens; BoE in focus
OPEN
The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 started life in the red on Monday, while the Nasdaq index rose.
The Dow Jones is down 21 to 23,412 at the time of writing, while the S&P 500 is down 3.28 at 2,577.
The Nasdaq is up 7.27 to stand at 6,708.
Meanwhile, US crude (West Texas Intermediate) is up 0.11% to US$53.95.
In Toronto, the TSX is up almost 54 points to stand at 16,007.
In equities, there were some notable movers.
Toy maker Mattel (NYSE:MAT) shares added over 6% to US$14.93 after losses on Friday, after it emerged that Toys R Us bankruptcy had eaten into sales.
Elsewhere, Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) shares shed 4.79% to US$55.42 as late on Friday, the company withdrew an application for use in Europe of its flagship drug Keytruda, raising questions about future sales.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares nudged up 2.01% to US$166.34 each as it emerged that demand for its luxury iPhone X is stronger than expected but production problems continue.
The big riser was CalAtlantic Group Inc (NYSE:CAA), which added almost 23% to US$46.97 after news that Lennar Corp (NYSE:LEN) has agreed to merge with the rival in a stock-and-cash deal, turning the combined entity into one of the top three housebuilders by revenue in the United States.
Under the deal, each CalAtlantic share can be exchanged for 0.885 shares of Lennar, which represents a 27% premium on CalAtlantic’s shares, based on Friday’s closing price.
Since President Trump won the election, the Dow Jones has increased over 5,000 points! pic.twitter.com/WOn2Q1zCbA
— Nick Short ???????? (@PoliticalShort) October 27, 2017