The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.55 points or 0.21 per cent to 12,871.83 as trading got underway on Wall Street.

The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.54 points or 0.02 per cent to 2,496.16 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index added 0.28 points or 0.02 per cent to 1,408.94.

CBS said it was buying CNET Networks for US$1.8 billion (S$2.5 billion) in cash and said the deal would help make it one of America's 10 most popular Internet companies.

Media companies like CBS are seeking to boost their online assets in part to tap potentially lucrative advertising revenues.

In other news, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke urged finance firms to strengthen their risk management checks and cautioned that the markets remain in a state of 'fragility'.

And the government reported that weekly claims for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to 371,000 for the week ended May 3. The gain in claims was in line with most analysts' expectations. -- AFP