US STOCKS-Wall St down as Portugal woes offset M&A deals

                                

                                
 * Portugal pressured to seek financial help
                                
 * Duke Energy to buy Progress Energy for $13.7 billion
                                
 * Alcoa to report quarterly results after market close
                                
 * Indexes off: Dow 0.5 pct, S&P 0.5 pct, Nasdaq 0.6 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
                                
 (Updates to open)
                                
 By Ryan Vlastelica
                                
 NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks pulled back from
strong recent gains on Monday as renewed concerns about the
euro zone sovereign debt crisis overshadowed the lift from
several large acquisitions.
                                
 Pressure grew on Portugal to seek financial help from the
European Union and International Monetary Fund, though the
European Commission on Monday denied that discussions were
underway on an EU/IMF bailout. For details, see [ID:nLDE7080FG]
and [ID:nBRU011239]
                                
 Duke Energy Corp <DUK.N> agreed to buy Progress Energy Inc
<PGN.N> for $13.7 billion in stock, and DuPont <DD.N> plans to
buy Danisco <DCO.CO>, a Danish food ingredient firm, for $5.8
billion. [ID:nSGE70909G] and [ID:nN09219516]
                                
 Shares of Progress slid 1.4 percent to $44.06, and Duke
fell 1.2 percent to $17.57. DuPont, a Dow component, fell 4.4
percent to $47.56.
                                
 "Despite the very positive merger activity, which is one
more indication that companies view other companies as
undervalued, the market is suffering overall because it is
being reminded that the European debt situation is not behind
us," said Michael Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as
chairman of Holland & Co in New York.
                                
 Markets advanced recently ahead of the upcoming earnings
season. Last week the Dow and S&P notched a sixth straight week
of gains, while the Nasdaq rose 1.9 percent.
                                
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  For graphics on M&A: http://r.reuters.com/kyb46q
                                
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 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 61.38
points, or 0.53 percent, at 11,613.38. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 6.72 points, or 0.53 percent, at
1,264.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 16.91
points, or 0.63 percent, at 2,686.26.
                                
 Alcoa Inc <AA.N> is scheduled to report its quarterly
results after the market closes, unofficially launching the
fourth-quarter earnings season. The stock, a Dow component,
edged 0.7 percent to $16.53.
                                
 For a preview of the upcoming earnings season, see
[ID:nN10257479]
                                
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)