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New York - Shares of LinkedIn shot up on news of its $26.2bn takeover by Microsoft on Monday, but US stocks held near flat on a down day on most global bourses.
LinkedIn surged 47.3% following the all-cash offer by Microsoft in a deal that will make the professional networking company an independent organization within Microsoft. Microsoft lost 3.2%.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 858.56, down less than 0.1%.
The broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat at 2 096.17, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.1% to 4 891.94.
Global stocks were generally in retreat as polls showed greater support in Britain to exit the European Union when it votes June 23.
Analysts also cited lackluster Chinese economic data and downcast sentiment after an attack on Sunday of a gay dance club that left 50 dead in Orlando, Florida.
Symantec rose 6.4% after announcing it will acquire Blue Coat, which specializes in cloud computing security, for $4.65bn.
Other technology shares that rose included Twitter, up 7.6%, Netflix, up 3.1%, and Yelp, 1.5%. All three have previously been mentioned as potential acquisition targets by larger tech companies.
Walgreens Boots Alliance shed 0.1% as it announced that it was terminating its relationship with embattled blood-testing company Theranos. Walgreens said the move was needed after US regulators uncovered significant problems at a California Theranos lab.
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson jumped 6.0% following the Orlando slayings. Gunmakers typically rise after mass shootings on expectations of more firearms purchases as politicians call for gun control legislation.
