Investors will be looking out for any official announcement of a merger between Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan Motor. Asia markets climbed after a U.S. government shutdown was averted and as a cooler-than-expected inflation reading helped lift U.

Stocks wavered in morning trading on Wall Street Monday at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%. A handful of technology companies helped cushion the widespread losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 222 points,