NEW YORK » Stock indexes were edging lower in early trading today as investors worked through several company announcements. Global markets were modestly higher.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 48 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,748 as of 10:55 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down five points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,066 and the Nasdaq composite edged down 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,896.

FIRST CLASS: Virgin America jumped $15.70, or 40 percent, to $54.61 after the company agreed to be bought by Alaska Air Group. Shares of Alaska Air fell $4.00, or 5 percent, to $77.96. JetBlue, which had bid for Virgin as well, fell 40 cents, or 2 percent, to $20.87.

IT’S ELECTRIC: Tesla Motors rose $9.88, or 4 percent, to $247.37 after the company announced it had received 276,000 preorders for its highly anticipated Model 3, which is to be unveiled on Thursday.

OVERSEAS: European stocks were modestly higher. Germany’s DAX gained 0.2 percent, France’s CAC-40 rose 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4 percent.

OIL: Oil prices seesawed as investors digested reports that Saudi Arabia would freeze its production only if Iran and other producers agreed to do the same. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 8 cents $36.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 23 cents to $38.44 a barrel in London.

U.S. JOBS: The U.S. government said Friday that job growth continued at a strong clip in March, slightly stronger than investors expected and showing employers were confident enough to add staff despite the slowing economy. Employers added 215,000 jobs last month, a solid figure but not enough to keep up with the new job-seekers. More people also looked for work and wages edged higher.

BONDS, CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.78 percent. The euro rose to $1.14 from $1.1392 while the dollar fell to 111.41 yen from 111.73 yen.