US stocks open mixed ahead of first-quarter corporate earnings

US stocks opened mixed on Monday ahead of the release of a new round of company earnings, including aluminum producer giant Alcoa's earnings.The stock market wrapped up last week, the first week of the second quarter, in the negative territory, with the S&P 500 posted its worst weekly drop in 2013 hit by disappointing U.S. non-farm payrolls data in March.With no major economic data due on Monday, the market is anticipating the release of Alcoa's earnings report after the closing bell to initiate corporate earnings in the first quarter."We may hit some weakness in the second quarter due to the debt ceiling discussion, effects of sequestration and all that. But the expectation is that companies will adjust, and then the market will continue to march forward and end up in a better place at the end of the year," Kenneth Polcari, director of NYSE Floor Operations at O'Neil Securities, told Xinhua.In corporate news, General Electric (GE) said Monday that it will acquire Lufkin Industries, a leading provider of artificial lift technologies for the oil and gas industry and a manufacturer of industrial gears, for approximately 3.3 billion U.S. dollars. Lufkin shareholders will receive 88.50 dollars per share in cash for each of their Lufkin shares.GE shares edged up 0.04 percent to trade at 22.94 dollars a share in the morning session, while Lufkin Industries share leapt 37.81 percent to trade at 88.10 dollars a share.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 27.64, or 0.19 percent, to 14,537.61. The S&P 500 Index dipped 1.12, or 0.07 percent, to 1,552.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 3.70, or 0.12 percent, to 3,207.56.