AT&T, Discovery Drop After $43B Deal Announced

US stocks closed modestly lower Monday, tacking more losses onto last week’s stumble, as worries about inflation continue to dog Wall Street. The S&P 500 dipped 10.56 points, or 0.3%, to 4,163.29, with tech stocks and other former market darlings once again taking the brunt of the losses, the AP reports. The benchmark index is coming off a 1.4% weekly drop from its record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.34 points, or 0.2%, to 34,327.79, while the Nasdaq composite lost 50.93 points, or 0.4%, to 13,379.05.

Most stocks in the S&P 500 fell, but pockets of strength dotted around the market helped limit the damage. Energy stocks jumped as the price of crude oil rose, while producers of metals and other raw materials also climbed. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks inched up 2.49, or 0.1%, to 2,227.12. They’re the latest back-and-forth eddies for a market swept up in worries about whether rising inflation will prove to be only temporary or longer lasting, as well as enthusiasm about a recovering economy. AT&T slipped 0.7%, and Discovery dropped 5.1% after the companies announced a $43 billion deal that will combine several major media and streaming entertainment businesses. The new company folds in AT&T’s CNN and HBO channels with Discovery’s Food Network and HGTV.

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