Monday, 13 July 2015 21:32
NEW YORK: US stocks rose early Monday, joining a global rally after Greece reached a deal with eurozone leaders on the third bailout and avoided crashing out of the eurozone.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,943.91, up 183.50 points (1.03 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 19.03 (0.92 percent) to 2,095.65, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 58.80 (1.18 percent) at 5,056.50.
Under the deal, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is required to push through the Greek parliament a series of tough austerity measures on pensions and taxes by Wednesday.
After that happens, Greece can begin formal negotiations on a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros ($ 96 billion).
Natural gas processing company MarkWest Energy Partners jumped 10.1 percent on news it will be acquired by a unit of Marathon Petroleum for $ 15.8 billion. Marathon rose 10.0 percent.
Online retailer Amazon shot up 2.6 percent after Morgan Stanley said it was “bullish” about the company’s upcoming second quarter results due to strong customer growth and lower operating costs.
Pharmaceutical company Depomed was flat after enacting a “poison pill” defense to block a third party from taking a controlling stake in the company. The move follows an unsolicited bid from Horizon Pharma to buy Depomed for about $ 3 billion. Horizon added 0.1 percent.
Anacor Pharmaceuticals surged 46.0 percent after releasing positive preliminary clinical results for its Crisaborole dermatitis ointment. The company plans to file a new drug application in 2016.
Ascena Retail Group, which operates Dress Barn, Lane Bryant and other apparel chains, slumped 15.3 percent after trimming its full-year earnings forecast to 57-60 cents per share from 70-75 cents per share.
The company is accelerating the sell-down of spring and summer merchandise to present a “cleaner selling floor and a well-communicated value proposition for the Fall season” at its Justice chain of clothing stores for young girls, said chief executive David Jaffe.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.45 percent from 2.40 percent Friday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.21 percent from 3.19 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
