Stock market today: Honda-Nissan merger talks shake up otherwise quiet morning on Wall Street

AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered in morning trading on Wall Street Monday at the start of a holiday-shortened week.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1%. A handful of technology companies helped cushion the widespread losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 222 points, or 0.5% as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, rose 1.5%. Broadcom jumped 3.9% to also help support the broader market.

Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan said they are talking about combining in a deal that might also include Mitsubishi Motors. Honda rose 3.8% and Nissan rose 1.6% in Tokyo.

Eli Lilly rose 1.3% after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea.

Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.55% from 4.53% late Friday.

Markets will close early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.