US stocks open lower as earnings season looms

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. US stocks opened lower Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, as profit taking and caution ahead of the looming earnings season took hold in the wake of the bullish week that opened the new year on the markets. AP PHOTO/SETH WENIG

NEW YORK—US stocks opened lower Monday as profit taking and caution ahead of the looming earnings season took hold in the wake of the bullish week that opened the new year on the markets.

Five minutes into trade Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 61.93 points (0.46 percent) at 13,373.28.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 6.69 points (0.46 percent) to 1,459.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 14.00 (0.45 percent) to 3,087.66.

Bank of America shares added 0.2 percent to $12.13 after it announced an $11.6 billion deal to settle longstanding mortage claims from Fannie Mae, and the sale of servicing rights on $306 billion worth of mortgages.

Nationstar Mortgage, one of the buyers of the servicing rights, gained 13.8 percent.