With the economic calendar light for the next two days, investors look ahead to the latest minutes of the July Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday for clues as to when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and the central bank will start tapering its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program.
In company news, Atlas Copco AB (Stockholm: ATCOA) announced on Monday it agreed to acquire British industrial company Edwards Group for up to $1.6 billion.
Shares of Edwards Group Ltd soared 17.69 percent to $9.94 per share, while Atlas Copco rose 2.54 percent to 165.60kr.
Zillow Inc. (Nasdaq: Z) said it is buying rival online real estate company StreetEasy for $50 million for more New York City real estate listings. Shares of Zillow fell 4.24 percent to $87.36 in morning trade.
Global investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is being investigated by U.S. regulators for its hiring practices in China. The SEC is probing whether the bank hired the children of Chinese officials in efforts to increase its business in the world’s second largest economy, according to a report from The New York Times.
On Monday, shares of JPMorgan Chase dropped 1.75 percent to $52.36 in morning trade.
On the earnings calendar, retailer Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URNB) is expected to report second quarter earnings after the bell on Monday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.95 points or 0.05 percent, to 15,089.42. The S&P 500 Index was up 1.29 points or 0.08 percent, to 1,657.31. The Nasdaq Composite added 18.05 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,620.94.
