Walt Disney Co shares rises 1.5 pct after company offered concessions in attempt to allay EU

The benchmark S&P 500 index edged lower in choppy trade on Monday as technology stocks were pressured by lingering worries over interest rates and corporate earnings while gaining Disney shares helped keep the Dow positive.

The technology index fell 1.1 per cent, weighing the most on the S&P 500 as a whole. Conversely, defensive sectors such as real estate, consumer staples and utilities, led the S&P's major sectors in percentage gains.

Walt Disney Co shares rose 1.5 per cent after the company offered concessions in an attempt to allay EU antitrust concerns over its $71.3 billion bid for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc's entertainment assets. Fox shares rose 0.6 per cent.

The major stock indexes are coming off last week's steep sell-off, which led to their sharpest weekly percentage declines in seven months. Investor concerns have mounted about the impact of tariffs and rising borrowing costs on corporate profits as the third-quarter earnings season kicks into high gear this week.

"It's the growth stocks that are taking the beating," said Robert Phipps, director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas.

Even so, Phipps added, "The majority of the selling is out of the way. We had a big spike in yields, and I don't think they will accelerate like that going forward."

Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were last at 3.1595 per cent, below the levels that prompted last week's sell-off.

Bank of America Corp shares dropped 0.7 per cent after loan growth at the second-largest U.S. bank lagged rivals and fees from advising on deals and underwriting bonds fell in the third quarter.

Apple Inc shares fell 1.6 per cent and weighed the most on all three of Wall Street's major indexes after Goldman Sachs said there were multiple signs of rapidly slowing consumer demand in China, which could affect demand for iPhones this fall.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.87 points, or 0 per cent, to 25,340.86, the S&P 500 lost 4.47 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 2,762.66 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 38.64 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 7,458.26.

The top gainers on the S&P were L3 Technologies Inc, which jumped 13.3 per cent, and Harris Corp, which climbed 12.0 per cent after the military communication equipment providers announced an all-stock merger to create the sixth-largest U.S. defence contractor.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.83-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.43-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted two new 52-week highs and seven new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 13 new highs and 131 new lows. 

(With inputs from agencies.)