US: Stocks end volatile day higher as Musk buys Twitter

WALL Street stocks finished higher on Monday following a roller-coaster session at the start of a heavy earnings week, while Twitter shares rose after the company agreed to be bought by Elon Musk. Twitter finished up 5.7 per cent, picking up steam after Musk announced a deal to buy the social media network for US$44 billion. Twitter agreed to the deal in an about-face from earlier resistance after Musk announced a financing plan that included US$21 billion from his personal fortune. The market as a whole gyrated throughout the day, grappling with worries over China and the Federal Reserve’s plan to lift interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.7 per cent at 34,049.46, more than 700 points above its session low. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to 4,296.12 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.3 per cent to 13,004.85. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare attributed the rally to bargain hunting after the S&P 500 slipped as low as 4,200, a level that triggered buy orders. Investors are cautious ahead of upcoming earnings from tech giants including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, which are significant components of major indices and usually outperform. “Everyone’s on heightened alert after the disappointment over Netflix,” which last week suffered grievous losses after reporting disappointing earnings, O’Hare said. Among individual companies, Coca-Cola gained 1.1 per cent as it reported higher profits and revenues amid strong consumer demand, despite higher pricing. AFP