U.S. stocks opened modestly lower Monday.
The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid roughly 0.3%.
With little in the way of corporate or economic news, stocks are setting up for a quiet day.
“The markets are sort of casting around, looking for direction,” said Chris Beauchamp, analyst with IG in London.
He said that investors are still holding back because of anxiety over the Federal Reserve’s expected slowdown of bond buying activity.
“It’s the thing that continues to worry people,” said Beauchamp, who believes that tapering won’t start until November at least. “I still think that they’re not going to move too soon.”
The U.S. Treasury Department will release its monthly budgetary statement at 2 p.m. ET.
The markets have been in a bit of a funk for the past few trading days as a summer malaise sets in. August tends to be a month of light trading volumes and muted market movements.
All the major U.S. stock indexes declined by roughly 1% last week. But even with the loss of momentum, stocks have still gained between 18% and 23% in 2013.
BlackBerry said it will begin exploring ‘strategic alternatives,’ including selling the company. Once a dominant player in the smartphone market, BlackBerry has struggled recently against competitors like Apple and Saumsung.
Dole Food Company approved a plan by CEO David Murdock to take the company private for $13.50 a share.
Apple shares rose after the International Trade Commission on Friday banned Samsung from importing or selling several devices that it said infringe on Apple patents.
European markets were lower in midday trading.
There was a bit more excitement in Asian markets.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index and Hang Seng index rallied by just over 2% after a number of well-received economic reports from the past few days.
But Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.7% as data showed the pace of the country’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter.
