Stocks fall; investors look ahead to central bank meetings

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were pulling back in early trading Monday following four weeks of gains as investors work through another batch of corporate earnings and look ahead to this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. Yahoo fell after Verizon Communications announced it would buy most of Yahoo’s internet businesses for $4.83 billion.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 49 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,523 as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell five points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,170 and the Nasdaq composite fell three points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,096.

YAHOO’S DEMISE: Yahoo fell 71 cents, or 2 percent, to $38.66 after the company announced that Verizon would buy Yahoo’s advertising, media and email businesses for $4.83 billion, ending a five-month auction. Verizon will add Yahoo to its portfolio of recently purchased media companies, including AOL.

Once finished, Yahoo will be a shell of its former self, existing mainly as a holding company for its Alibaba and Yahoo Japan investments, as well as its patent portfolio.