(By Balachander) U.S. stocks ended on a mixed note as investors look ahead to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later this week for any hints whether the central bank will take further measures to stimulate growth.
S&P 500 Index dipped 0.05 percent to finish at 1,410.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.25 percent to end at 13,124.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.11 percent to close at 3,073.19.
Bernanke will speak in the Fed's annual symposium Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, while European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi is expected address the conference on Saturday.
Markets may also focus on data due this week including: personal income and spending, consumer confidence, pending home sales, weekly jobless claims, the preliminary second quarter GDP estimate and factory orders.
There were no major U.S. economic data released on Monday.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: AAPL, BBY, NOK, TIF, HCBK, MTB, HTZ, DTG, AOL, KNXA, DCI, FSCI
In corporate news, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 1.85 percent after the maker of iPhone and iPad was awarded over $1 billion in damages after a jury found that rival Samsung had infringed on six Apple patents. The news also sent U.S.-listed shares of Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) soaring 5.52 percent.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:BBY) rose 3.24 percent. The consumer electronics retailer agreed to permit its founder Richard Schulze conduct due diligence to help him move forward with his proposal to acquire the company.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) gained 7.20 percent. The jeweler posted a 2 percent rise in second-quarter net earnings on sales growth of 1.6 percent. The company also reduced its 2012 forecast and its quarterly earnings trailed market expectations amid sharp contraction of margins.
Hudson City Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:HCBK) surged 15.68 percent after M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE:MTB) agreed to acquire the bank for $3.7 billion in cash and stock. MTB shares gained 4.60 percent.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:DTG) jumped 7.51 percent after the car rental company agreed to be acquired by its bigger rival Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) for $87.50 per share, 8 percent premium to its previous closing price. HTZ shares soared 8.06 percent.
AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL) advanced 2.86 percent after the Web services company announced a $5.15 per share special cash dividend as part of its plans to return $1.1 billion to shareholders.
Kenexa Corp. (NYSE:KNXA) spiked 41.37 percent after the recruitment services company agreed to be bought by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) for around $1.3 billion or $46 a share in cash.
Donaldson Co Inc. (NYSE:DCI) rose 2.49 percent after the maker of filtration systems reported a 8 percent growth in quarterly earnings on strong sales growth across its segments.
Deltek Inc. (NASDAQ:PROJ) lost 7.71 percent after the provider of enterprise software agreed to be taken private by Thoma Bravo LLC for around $1.1 billion or $13 a share in cash.
Fisher Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:FSCI) surged 9.37 percent after the media company declared a special cash dividend of $10.00 per share and initiated a regular quarterly dividend to return value to shareholders.
Global Markets:
European markets closed on a positive note, with Germany's DAX up 1.10 percent to close at 7,047.45. France's CAC40 rose 0.86 percent to finish at 3,462.83. U.K.'s FTSE 100 was closed for a bank holiday.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index declined 1.74 percent to finish at 2,055.71. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.16 percent to end at 9,085.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.41 percent to end at 19,798.67. India's BSE Sensex closed at 17,678.81, down 0.59 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Crude oil futures dipped 0.53 percent to $95.64 per barrel and natural gas futures retreated 1.85 percent to $2.652 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures edged down 0.37 percent to $1,666.7 per ounce while silver futures gained 0.26 percent to $30.790 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro declined 0.12 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.2498. The British pound slipped 0.10 percent against the greenback to 1.5795, while the dollar rose 0.11 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.7600.