NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks were little changed in early trading Monday after closing out October at record levels. Sapient jumped after agreeing to be acquired by Publicis, a French marketing company.<br />
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KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was little changed at 2,018. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,372. The Nasdaq composite gained six points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,637.<br />
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RECORD RUN: The S&P 500 and the Dow closed at all-time highs on Friday after the Bank of Japan surprised investors by announcing it would increase its bond and asset purchases in an effort to try and stave off deflation. Strong company earnings also helped the stock market recover from an early October slump.<br />
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AD DEAL: French advertising group Publicis said Monday it would to buy Boston-based marketing, communications and consulting firm Sapient for $3.7 billion in cash. Sapient's stock soared $7.29, or 42 percent, to $24.62.<br />
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IN EUROPE: Germany's DAX declined 0.2 percent to 9,303 while France's CAC-40 fell 0.5 percent to 4,213. Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.4 percent lower at 6,520.<br />
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GLOBAL MANUFACTURING: A gauge of Chinese manufacturing released by a government-sanctioned industry group came in below what analysts were looking for. The weakness raised concern that growth in the world's second-largest economy will decline further. A similar report into the manufacturing sector of the 18-nation eurozone from financial data firm Markit was similarly downbeat.<br />
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BUSY WEEK AHEAD: The manufacturing reports kick off what's likely to be a busy week in the financial markets. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday to decide whether it will take more steps to stimulate the region's ailing economy. And on Friday the U.S. government releases its monthly jobs report. Now that the Federal Reserve has shut down its bond buying program, investors are assessing when the Fed will start to raise interest rates.<br />
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YEN SLIDE CONTINUES: The Bank of Japan's announcement that it will increase its asset purchases weighed heavily on the Japanese yen, which continued to fall Monday. The dollar was 1.2 percent higher at 113.62 yen. That's the first time it has breached 113 yen since December 2007. The U.S. currency also gained against the euro, rising 0.2 percent to $1.25.<br />
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ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.60 to $79.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oil, was 66 cents lower at $85.21 per barrel.<br />
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BONDS: In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year note was little changed at 2.34 percent.
