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US stocks open lower

New York - US stocks opened lower on Monday after notching a sixth straight week of gains, with online travel giant Priceline sinking after issuing an unexpected warning on fourth-quarter earnings.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 142.77 points (0.80%) at 17 767.56.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 14.95 points (0.71%) to 2 084.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 28.83 (0.56%) to 5 118.29.

Some earnings disappointments and speculation on the interest rate plans of the Federal Reserve - will it hike in December or not? - weighed on shares.

Priceline warned the strong US dollar could hit its international earnings, and gave a fourth-quarter forecast that was some 11% lower than analysts were predicting, sending its shares tumbling 5.7%.

Construction timber specialist Plum Creek jumped 14.2% after it announced its merger with forestry and paper giant Weyerhauser in a share swap deal that valued Plum Creek shares nearly 14% above the average of the past month.

The two Seattle-based companies said the tie-up, with a combined earnings of $2.2bn last year, is focused on taking advantage of the resurgent US housing construction sector.

Weyerhauser shares fell 4.6% on the deal.

Shares in industrial conglomerate/investment house Berkshire Hathaway fell 1.3% despite a record surge in third-quarter earnings reported late Friday.

While it beat total earnings forecasts, Warren Buffett's giant turned in a disappointing operating earnings figure, hurt by higher insurance underwriting costs.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.37% from 2.33% Friday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.13% from 3.09%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

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