There's No Business Like FOX Business
Stocks started March solidly higher as bulls got behind three big deals and reports that a financial aid package for Greece was slowly coming together.
Today’s Markets
As of 3 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.46 points, or 0.67%, to 10394.34, the Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 9.82 points, or 0.89%, to 1114.30 and the Nasdaq Composite picked up 31.31 points, or 1.4%, to 2269.66. The FOX 50 added 5.84 points, or 0.73%, to 804.06.
Monday's gains were broad, with 24 of the 30 Dow members in the green in afternoon trading, led by Travelers (TRV). The insurance company advanced after U.K.-based Prudential announced it would purchase American International Group (AIG) AIA's life insurance operations for $35.5 billion.
Shares of AIG were up 5.7% on the deals announcement.
There were two healthcare-related deals announced on Monday as well. Biotech supply company Millipore (MIL) announced it would be acquired by German drug conglomerate Merck KGaA for $7.2 billion, including debt, sending shares up 11%.
OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP) soared more than 50% after Japan’s Astellas offered to purchase OSI for $3.5 billion in cash to gain access to the company’s cancer drug Tarceva. OSI rejected the offer, saying in a statement that “significantly undervalues” the company, but Astellas said it is still willing to negotiate.
The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported France and Germany have crafted a deal to provide $40 billion in aid to Greece in an effort to keep the country from defaulting on its obligations.
The Journal reported that the French and German governments are planning a debt sale to raise the capital needed for Greece in a similar fashion to TARP. A deal could be signed as early as Friday.
Stocks somewhat positively to a report by the Institute for Supply Management's February that showed sector activity fell to a reading of 56.5 compared with a reading of 58.4 in January. The report fell more than the 57.5 reading that economists had expected.
In the commodity markets, oil gave up its earlier gains to fall $1.31 a barrel, or 1.63%, to $78.38 while gold rose 0.04% to $1,119.40 a troy ounce. Copper futures gained 2% after the 8.8-mearthquake struck Chile over the weekend, lifting shares of miners BHP Billiton (BHP) and Freeport McMoRan (FCX) as a result.
Company News
Shares of The New York Times Co. (NYT) rose more than 5% on rumors that billionaire Carlos Slim was interested in taking the company private. A spokesperson for the company told the Journal that the rumor was false, causing the stock to pare back some of its gains.
Auctioneer Sotheby’s (BID) posted a profit of $1.09 a share on $218.3 million in revenue, well ahead of the 67 cents on $201 million in revenue expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters.
Dish Network (DISH) reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit 40 cents a share, topping analysts’ average estimate of 32 cents a share. Shares rose nearly 6%.
Proxy adviser RiskMetrics (RISK) was acquired by MSCI (MXB) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $1.55 billion.
Shares of Department store chain Dillards (DDS) jumped more than 14% after the company reported an adjusted profit of $1.04 a share, well ahead of the 92 cents expected by analysts.
Global Markets
U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.96% to 5405.94, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.64% to 3769.54 and Germany’s DAX gained 2.06% to 5713.51.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.45% to 10172.06 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.17% to 21056.93. China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 1.18% to 3087.84.
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