US: Stocks open higher buoyed by Kraft-Heinz merger

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened higher on Wednesday buoyed by the proposed mega-merger of HJ Heinz and Kraft Foods, creating North America's third-largest food and beverage conglomerate.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 17.46 points (0.10 per cent) at 18,028.60.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 4.44 (0.21 per cent) at 2,095.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5.76 (0.12 per cent) to 5,000.49.

Kraft surged 32.6 per cent to US$80.99 as Heinz's owners 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway agreed to pay about US$10 billion in a special dividend of US$16.50 per share to Kraft shareholders in the deal, representing a 27 per cent premium to Kraft's closing price on Tuesday.

AFP