By CNNMoney.com
Stocks ended little changed Monday, although the Nasdaq managed to close at an 18-month high, as investors weighed corporate deals, a stronger dollar and weaker commodity prices ahead of key economic news due later this week.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 14 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 index was little changed. Both ended the previous session at their highest levels since Jan. 20.
The Nasdaq composite added 6 points, or 0.3%, ending at its highest point since Sept. 2, 2008.
Stocks rallied Friday after a government report showed the economy lost fewer jobs in February than economists had expected.
But stocks drifted Monday as investors looked to a host of economic news due later in the week, including reports on state-by-state unemployment Wednesday, weekly jobless claims Thursday and retail sales Friday.
Deal news: MetLife agreed to buy troubled insurer AIG’s American Life Insurance unit, known as Alico, in a $15.5 billion cash-and-stock deal. The deal was a positive, but not a surprise, as MetLife had confirmed last month that it was in talks with AIG.
It was AIG’s second major sale in a week as the government-owned company looks to pay back over $100 billion in bailout money it took during the financial crisis.
MetLife will pay $6.8 billion in cash, with the remainder in company stock. The deal leaves AIG as Met’s second-biggest shareholder, with a stake of over 20% in the company. Met shares gained 5% and AIG shares gained 3.6%.
In other deal news, Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina have made a bid to buy Australia’s Arrow Energy for $3 billion in cash and stock. Royal Dutch already owns a 10% stake in Arrow.
Deal news tends to support stock gains in general, as it is seen as a sign of corporate confidence.
Company news: McDonald’s said February same-store sales rose 4.8%, as strength in overseas markets offset weakness in the United States. Same-store sales is a retail metric that refers to sales at stores open a year or more. Shares of the Dow component rose 2.3%.
Dubious anniversary: Tuesday brings the one-year anniversary of what many consider to be the bear-market low. On that day, the Dow and S&P 500 closed at 12-year lows and the Nasdaq closed at 6-year lows.
Between March 9 and the 2010 rally high hit on Jan. 19, the S&P 500 gained 70%, the Dow gained 64% and the Nasdaq gained 44%.
World Markets: In overseas trading, European markets slipped and Asian markets rallied.
The dollar and commodities: The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.
U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 37 cents to settle at $81.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for May delivery fell $10.90 to settle at $1,124.60 per ounce.
Bonds: Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.71% from 3.68% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.