US:Wall St rises on on Enbridge, GE acquisitions

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened higher Tuesday, lifted by merger announcements, including Canadian pipeline company Enbridge's acquisition of Spectra Energy in an all-stock deal valued at US$28 billion.

The Enbridge deal will create an network of oil and gas pipelines serving most of Canada and the United States. Spectra surged 10.7 per cent, while Enbridge advanced 1.9 per cent.

General Electric slipped 0.2 per cent after announcing US$1.4 billion in 3D printing acquisitions, while Monsanto climbed 0.6 per cent on news Germany's Bayer raised its bid for the US company.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,541.41, up 0.3 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.1 per cent to 2,182.42, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 per cent at 5,254.64.

AFP