An earlier version of this article misstated the company that Walmart Inc., is said to be in talks with. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Walmart Inc. is exploring a tie-up with Humana Inc., not Humira.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was modestly lower in early Monday trade, with investors reluctant to push shares higher coming off holidays for Easter and Passover. European markets, meanwhile, were closed in observance of Easter Monday. The Dow DJIA, -0.74% was down 45 points, or 0.2%, at 24,058, the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.18% traded 0.6% lower at 2,624, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -1.62% was off 1% at 6,991. Equity benchmarks traded skittishly on the heels of news that China was imposing tariffs on a range of U.S. agricultural goods, following through on a promise to retaliate against the Trump administration's penalties on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum. In corporate news, shares of Humana Inc. HUM, +5.70% were up 7.6% after The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Walmart Inc. WMT, -2.54% was considering a bid for the health-care provider. Shares of Walmart were off 2.3%. Most major stock markets were closed in observance of Good Friday.