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The S&P healthcare sector saw the strongest gains on Wall Street, rising 0.5 per cent, nike running shoes onlineafter Endo announced a $2.6bn acquisition for AMS, a maker of medical devices. The deal is set to close in the third quarter of this year and is expected to create $50m in synergies by 2013.

But in the wider markets, the S&P 500 index lost 0.3 per cent to 1,324.46, adding to the 0.4 per cent losses on Friday. The energy sector saw the sharpest losses following the IMF report which reduced its forecast for US growth in 2011 to 2.8 per cent from 3 per cent.

Cameron International, the oilfield services company, was down 3.5 per cent to $53.54 as oil prices lost ground while Baker Hughes lost 3.2 per cent to $69.31. The S&P energy sector was down 1.9 per cent.

The material sectors also saw strong losses with Freeport-McMoRan, the copper producer, falling 3.1 per cent to nike mens acg sandals 2011 $55.44 and Consol Energy , the coal miner, losing 4.2 per cent to $50.34.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat in the session at 12,381.11 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3 per cent at 2,771.51.

Before the IMF report the markets were slightly higher with traders looking optimistically towards the upcoming earnings season. Over the next few weeks almost two-thirds of the companies in the S&P 500 will report their first-quarter earnings.

“We look set to have a very healthy earnings season,” said Kate Warne, market strategist at Edward Jones. “Although I think that there will likely be fewer earnings surprises than in recent quarters.”

Analysts are expecting that stocks on the S&P 500 will see earnings per share growth of 11 per cent in the first quarter from the same period a year ago, according to Bloomberg data. This is a significantly slower growth rate than the 36 per cent jump in the fourth quarter of 2010, but the growth is coming from a higher base.

Alcoa, the aluminium producer, reported earnings that topped analysts forecasts after the closing bell on Monday.

The company reported earnings excluding restructuring costs and other one-time items of 28 cents a share, topping the 27 cents expected by analysts. The stock was down 0.8 per cent to $17.77 ahead of the result.

This week will also see earnings reports by JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday and Google on Thursday.

There was more deal activity in the telecommunications sector. Level 3 Communications, the internet videobuy Reebok EasyTone online and communications network operator, said it had agreed to acquire Global Crossing, the IP solutions provider, in an all-stock offer valued at roughly $1.9bn.

The news sent shares in Level 3 up 18.1 per cent to $1.70 and Global Crossing up 68.7 per cent to $24.97.

In other deal news, Tyco International jumped 3.3 per cent to $48.72 following unconfirmed reports that Schneider Electric was weighing up a takeover offer for the maker of security systems.

Shares in NYSE Euronext, the largest exchange operator in the US, lost ground after its  Nasdaq OMXNasdaq OMX and the IntercontinentalExchange, which was intended to break up the planned merger with Deutsche Börse.

In a statement, the NYSE Euronext board said the deal with Deutsche Börse would “create substantially more long-term value for shareholders, and is significantly more likely to close”.

Shares in NYSE lost 2.9 per cent to $37.59. Nasdaq fell 1.5 per cent to $28.03.