US: Stocks rise after huge Shell deal
[NEW YORK] US stocks opened higher on Wednesday following news of Royal Dutch Shell's US$70 billion takeover of BG Group as the market awaited the kickoff of earnings season.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,924.79, up 49.37 points (0.28 per cent).
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 5.92 (0.29 per cent) to 2,082.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 16.32 (0.33 per cent) at 4,926.56.
Analysts said Shell's £47 billion acquisition of BG could set off a wave of mergers in the energy industry in the wake of the big drop in oil prices. Petroleum producers Marathon Oil (+1.1 per cent) and Anadarko Petroleum (+1.9 per cent) were among the companies gaining in opening trade.
Traders were also looking ahead to the 1800 GMT release of minutes of the March monetary policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve and to Alcoa earnings, which will be reported after the market closes.
AFP
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Capital Markets & Currencies
Singapore stocks end lower after US market wobbles ahead of CPI data; STI down 0.2%
LSEG reports in-line first quarter as Microsoft partnership progresses
Japan brokerage Daiwa’s Q4 profit more than doubles as markets recover
South Korea readies new system to detect illegal short-selling
Asia: Markets mixed as global rally stalls, eyes on yen
Singapore shares retreat at Thursday’s open; STI down 1.1%