US stocks fall ahead of big economic data

Trader Kevin Coulter, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, July 29, 2013. US stocks Monday fell ahead of a busy week of economic news that includes a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting and the monthly jobs report. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK CITY—US stocks Monday fell ahead of a busy week of economic news that includes a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting and the monthly jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 36.86 (0.24 percent) at 15,521.97.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 6.32 (0.37 percent) to 1,685.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 14.02 (0.39 percent) to 3,599.14.

Analysts said investors were hesitant to make big bets before the Fed weighs in Wednesday with its policy statement and the jobs data is released Friday. Other big reports this week include second-quarter gross domestic growth and home prices.

“We have so much stuff later in the week,” said Steven Rosen, a vice president at Societe Generale. “There was really not much happening in the market as a whole.”

After trading much higher in the morning, advertising giant Omnicom finished 0.6 percent lower following its $35.1 billion merger with French rival Publicis. The deal aims to better position the new company as the sector further adjusts to changes wrought by digital technology.

Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay rose 5.8 percent after announcing a $2.9 billion takeover of US high-end retailer Saks. Saks rose 4.2 percent. The deal enables Hudson’s Bay to boost luxury retail in Canada, where there is a dearth of providers for this market.

US pharmaceutical Perrigo fell 6.8 percent after announcing an $8.6 billion takeover of Irish biotechnology company Elan. Perrigo said the deal would provide a platform for international expansion. Elan rose 3.6 percent.

Fertilizer company CF Industries surged 11.8 percent following reports that hedge fund Third Point acquired a stake and was advocating the company return more cash to shareholders.

Dow member Caterpillar added 1.2 percent after announcing it will purchase $1 billion in common shares from Societe Generale. The announcement follows a disappointing earnings report last week from the industrial heavyweight.

Amazon fell 1.9 percent after announcing it would add 5,000 jobs and plans to hire more than 7,000 new employees.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 2.59 percent from 2.56 percent Friday, while the 30-year increased to 3.66 percent from 3.62 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.