Stocks Edge Lower at Open

Stocks declined slightly at open, as big buybacks from Microsoft, HP, and Nike were offset by general financial sector pessimism. The Dow dropped 85 points at the bell, while the S&P fell 0.5% and Nasdaq dropped 0.6%. Microsoft rose 4.9%, after announcing a $40-billion buyback and 18% dividend boost, while Morgan Stanley rose 14% on news that Mitsubishi would buy up to 20% of the firm.

The news that both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are abandoning the independent brokerage model to become full-fledged banks, backed by deposits, sent Goldman up 3%. Though the Treasury’s $700-billion bailout plan has, in the words of one analyst, “put a floor under the equity markets,” uncertainty remained about how much the government would pay for firms’ troubled assets. (More markets stories.)