U.S. shares wavered as shares of Alibaba Group Holding began trading and corporate takeovers boosted investor optimism. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slid 0.1 percent at 12:15 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) edged up 0.1 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) fell 0.4 percent. Most followed shares included Alibaba Dresser-Rand Concur VF Tibco Clorox McDonald's and Wal-Mart.
In consumer-discretionary shares Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) a Chinese e-commerce company jumped 37 percent to $93.47 on its first day of trading. The company raised $21.8 billion in the largest U.S. initial public offering. The company and shareholders including Inc. sold 320.1 million shares for $68 each according to a statement after offering them for $66 to $68.
VF () the clothing maker edged up 0.2 percent to $67.16. The stock was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at KeyBanc which expressed confidence about the company's branding strategy and the success of its Timberland acquisition.
() a home improvement retailer rose 1.1 percent to $93.09 after it reaffirmed its full-year revenue outlook and raised its earnings forecast.
McDonald's () a restaurant chain gained 1 percent to $94.45 after raising its quarterly dividend by five percent to 85 cents per share.
In energy shares () a compressor and turbine maker rallied 11 percent to $81.01 as Siemens AG prepared to offer more than $6.5 billion for the company according to reports by Bloomberg and the Financial Times.
In technology stocks Concur Technologies (NASDAQ:CNQR) a provider of travel-related software for hotels and tourism services climbed 18 percent to $127.20 after German software giant SAP SE agreed to buy the company for $7.4 billion to boost its cloud-computing business.
(NYSE:ORCL) the largest maker of corporate-database software fell 4.9 percent to $39.52 after Larry Ellison the company's co-founder and leader for 37 years stepped aside as chief executive officer. Mark Hurd and Safra Catz have been named as successors and become co-chief executives.
Tibco Software (NASDAQ:TIBX) a data management and analytics-software maker slumped 4.2 percent to $19.92 after posting fiscal third quarter profit of 14 cents per share excluding certain items four cents below estimates with revenue also falling short. Tibco has been hurt by shrinking profit margins and has been evaluating strategic options for the company.
(NASDAQ:TXN) a chip maker edged up 0.2 percent to $49.06 after hiking its quarterly dividend by 13 percent to 34 cents per share.
In consumer-staples stocks Clorox () a bleach maker edged up 0.4 percent to $90.28. CEO Donald Knauss is stepping down replaced by chief operating officer Benno Dorer. Knauss will continue as executive chairman with the change set to take place November 20.
Wal-Mart Stores () increased 1 percent to $77. The retail giant is hiring 60000 temporary workers for the holiday season an increase of 10 percent over last year.
In health-care stocks (NYSE:GSK) a drug maker added 0.6 percent to $47.59 even as a Chinese court found its subsidiary in China guilty of bribery and fined the company close to $491.5 million.
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