Stocks: U.S. stocks opened little changed on Monday, coming off last week's strong gains, as gains in consumer staples offset losses in energy stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) rose 2.14 points, or 0.01 percent, to 17,825.95. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 0.2 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,089.37 and the Nasdaq Composite index (IXIC) added 1.11 points, or 0.02 percent, to 5,106.03.
Forex: The U.S. dollar trimmed gains against its Canadian counterpart on Monday, pulling back from a two-month high although expectations for an upcoming U.S. rate hike continued to support the greenback.
USD/CAD pulled back from 1.3436, the pair's highest since September 29, to hit 1.3381 during early U.S. trade, still up 0.23%. The pair was likely to find support at 1.3265, Friday's low and resistance at 1.3458, the high of September 29.
Commodities: Oil prices resumed their downward trend on Monday, as earlier gains inspired by bullish comments from Saudi Arabia were seen as short-lived.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for January delivery shed 19 cents, or 0.44%, to trade at $44.47 a barrel during U.S. morning hours. Prices fell by as much as 2.4% to hit a session low of $43.59 before rebounding 2.33% to $45.73.
Saudi Arabia said it is prepared to use all measures necessary to ensure a stable oil market. The world's biggest oil producer added that it is ready to cooperate with OPEC and non-OPEC producers in order to stabilize prices. But prices turned lower again as oversupply concerns remained a factor for oil markets.
Economic Indicators: U.S. existing home sales fell more than expected in October, but remained in territory consistent with a healthy housing market, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales decreased 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted 5.36 million units last month from 5.55 million in September. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall 2.3% to 5.40 million units in October.
French Economy: Initial signs that the deadly Paris attacks have caused economic damage in the country emerged Monday, with the release of the financial information company Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for France. While data for the 19-nation eurozone showed a faster-than-expected growth in the region’s private sector -- which reached its highest level in four-and-a-half years -- growth across France’s private sector hit its lowest level in three months.
Markit’s Flash France Composite Output Index, which measures the overall activity in the manufacturing and services sector, dropped to a three-month low of 51.3 in November, from 52.6 in the previous month. Any reading over 50 indicates growth.
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