Stocks open little changed
US stocks open little changed as investors weigh budget deal, MasterCard buyback
A pair of traders confer on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street as investors hold back ahead of economic reports that could influence when the Federal Reserve will start reducing its stimulus. World stock markets mostly fell Wednesday Dec. 11, 2013 as investors factored in the prospect of the Federal Reserve reducing its lavish monetary stimulus this month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market is little changed in early trading as investors weigh a budget deal out of Washington and a batch of corporate news.
The Dow Jones industrial average eased 20 points to 15,951 shortly after the market opened Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell four points to 1,797. The Nasdaq fell 10 points to 4,049.
Congress reached a modest U.S. budget agreement that restores about $63 billion in across-the-board automatic spending cuts.
Food Network operator Scripps Networks Interactive jumped $4.97, or 7 percent, to $80.22 after a report that the board of Discovery Communications discussed a bid for the company.
MasterCard rose $36.79, or 5 percent, to $800.40 after it announced a 10-for-1 stock split, raised its quarterly and launched a $3.5 billion stock buyback.
