US STOCKS-Wall St opens lower, extending recent decline
* U.S. shares of BlackBerry soar, panel to explore options* U.S. shares of BlackBerry soar, panel to explore options
* Tesla Motors falls before the open after downgrade
FINANCIAL COMMENTARIES AND GUIDES
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By Ryan Vlastelica
The S&P 500 has now dropped for five of the past six sessions, receding from record levels on uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's timing for exiting its stimulus. The index posted its biggest weekly decline since mid-June last week, and is currently about 1.3 percent under an all-time high reached earlier this month.
Many traders are away on holiday in August, contributing to low trading volume, which could amplify market volatility. Last week, the market had some of its lightest trading days so far this year.
"We shouldn't equate the all-time highs with the market being rich. There's still value in the market, but in the short term we've gotten ahead of ourselves," said Matthew Keator, partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Several Fed officials have said the central bank could cut back on its bond-buying as early as next month if the economy continues to improve. But many investors fear the economy will stall without the Fed's continued support, which has helped fuel the S&P's gain of nearly 19 percent in 2013.
"This is a back-and-fill after the remarkable move we've seen this year, and that's healthy," said Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer of Global Financial Private Capital in Sarasota, Florida.
"There's a lot of hand-wringing about the Fed, and that's being exaggerated in a period with little else to trade off of."
U.S.-listed shares of smartphone maker BlackBerry rose 5.7 percent to $10.30 after the company said it had set up a committee to explore strategic alternatives that could include joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 37.58 points, or 0.24 percent, at 15,387.93. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.42 points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,687.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.20 points, or 0.03 percent, at 3,658.91.
Economic indicators this week include July retail sales on Tuesday and consumer sentiment on Friday. Investors will study the data for insight into the economy as well as for what they could mean for the Fed's exit from stimulus efforts.
Chinese shares rose to a two-month high as the South China Morning Post reported that authorities in Beijing were offering to provide stimulus to key cities and provinces to bolster a slowing economy.
Shares of Apple Inc will be in focus after technology blog AllThingsD reported the company was expected to present a redesigned iPhone in September. Shares added 1.4 percent to $461.06.
Vical Inc shares plummeted 60 percent to $1.44 after the company said it would stop developing cancer therapy Allovectin after a late-stage trial failed to show the treatment was significantly better than chemotherapy.
Rockwell Collins Inc fell 0.9 percent to $73.61 after it agreed to buy Arinc Inc, an aerospace communications firm, for $1.39 billion from Carlyle Group LP.
Tesla Motors Inc dipped 1.8 percent to $150 after Lazard downgraded the stock.
Food company Sysco Corp shares fell 3 percent to $33.96 after reporting its fourth-quarter results.
Earnings season is winding down, with 446 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 68 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, slightly above the 67 percent beat rate over the past four quarters, Thomson Reuters data showed.COPY http://uk.reuters.com/
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