Stocks struggled for direction at the open Monday with no major economic news on tap and as investors took a breather after the Dow and S&P 500 hit fresh highs last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered at the open. Bank of America led the blue-chip gainers, while Microsoft slipped.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also opened narrowly mixed. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 13.
Last week, the S&P 500 vaulted above the psychological 1600 level and the Dow broke above its major milestone of 15,000 for the first time, after April's government jobs report showed 165,000 new jobs were created, above the consensus 145,000 expected. Bond yields jumped, taking the 10-year note yield to 1.74 percent.
(Read More: Stocks Soar on Jobs, but Dangers Lurk)
Among key S&P sectors, techs and financials led the gainers, while consumer staples lagged.
"Continued payroll growth of this magnitude is sufficient to put gradual downward pressure on the unemployment rate. Still, labor market and inflation trends are soft enough to reduce the likelihood of Fed asset purchase tapering, in our view, but steady enough to keep the Fed from increasing the pace of its purchases," Barclays wrote.
"Global data are likely to stay choppy. Our tracking estimate of U.S. [first quarter] (gross domestic product) GDP is up one-tenth, to 2.7 percent, on stronger core shipments and inventories but U.S. non-manufacturing PMI has fallen to its lowest level since July."
(Read More: Stocks Rally, but Bull May Still Lose His Party Hat)
No major economic reports are due for release on Monday.
BMC Software said it agreed to be acquired by a private equity group led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital for about $6.9 billion. Shares were temporarily halted in pre-market trading.
Apple edged higher after Barclays raised its price target on the iPhone maker to $525 from $465.
Walt Disney edged higher after Deutsche Bank lifted its price target on the conglomerate to $75 from $63 and Wunderlich boosted its price target to $63 from $58. Disney is scheduled to report earnings on Tuesday.
Among earnings, Tyson Foods slumped to lead the S&P 500 laggards after the meat processor posted weaker-than-expected earnings and slashed its full-year revenue estimates.
Berkshire Hathaway rose after the conglomerate post earnings and revenue that beat expectations late Friday and following the company's high profile annual meeting in Omaha over the weekend.
First Solar and Anadarko are among notable companies scheduled to post earnings after the closing bell.
Macerich will replace Coventry Health Care in the S&P 500 after the close of trading Wednesday. Coventry is in the process of being acquired by Aetna and the deal is expected to be completed this week.
In Europe, shares were slightly lower, pulling back from the five-year highs. PMI data was released for the euro zone that was better-than-expected but continued to show that the downturn dragged on in April.
(Read More: Europe Shares Lower as Downturn Drags On)
Investor confidence fared better in Asia, with the brighter jobs picture in the U.S helping markets higher. Commodity prices rose as demand expectations picked up.
Hong Kong shares shot up to an eight-week high, the Shanghai Composite closed at a two-week high, and Australia's S&P ASX 200 index pared gains after hitting fresh respective highs. However, Seoul's Kospi reversed earlier gains to close down 0.2 percent.
(Read More: Asia Stocks Gain on Commodities, US Jobs)
?By CNBC's JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC)
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