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U.S. stocks opened with a sharp dive on Monday, clearing off some of the strong gains from last week, as the markets brace for another round of economic reports from around the world.
Stocks had their best weekly results in about 30 years last week, while November was one of the worst months in 21 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 249 points, or 2.8 percent, to 8,582. The S&P 500 index fell 27 points, or 3 percent, to 867, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 47 points, or 3 percent, to 1,487.
Manufacturing gauges in China, the euro zone and Britain each showed significant drops, with the Chinese and British gauge plunging to record lows. Later today, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke is set to make a speech on how low Fed funds rates are headed which will offer an approximate of how the central bank will be setting them over the next two weeks.
Also out on Monday will be the Institute of Supply Manufacturing gauge on manufacturing in November, which also is expected to slump.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE:F) the automakers said to be teetering on collapse gained after reports in the Financial Times said the companies have approached the Swedish government about aid for their Saab and Volvo brands.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) is reportedly considering selling NikkoCiti, its Japanese trust company, in a move that will raise the struggling bank up to $420 million.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) unveiled a $1.07 billion cash offer to acquire medical products supplier Mentor Corp (NYSE:MNT) in a move to boost its presence in cosmetic and reconstructive medicine.
The $31-a-share offer is nearly double Mentor's closing price on Friday.
Monday also marks Wall Street's first opportunity to react to the all-important holiday shopping seaason which kicked off on "Back Friday". Initial reports show customers aggressively went after massively-discounted items.
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