Monday, 16 March 2015 20:51
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks jumped early Monday ahead of an eagerly-watched Federal Reserve meeting this week as the dollar dipped.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,915.86, up 166.65 points (0.94 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 17.42 (0.85 percent) to 2,070.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 33.66 (0.69 percent) to 4,905.42.
US stocks have dropped the last two weeks, in part due to worries about the rising dollar. The euro advanced to $ 1.0583 from $ 1.0489 Friday.
The Fed Wednesday will conclude a two-day monetary policy meeting. The US central bank is expected to signal plans to raise interest rates this year, perhaps as soon as June.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International rose 2.6 percent after lifting its offer for Salix Pharmaceuticals from $ 158 per share to $ 173 per share, pushing out rival bidder Endo International. Salix gained 1.9 percent, while Endo rose 2.3 percent.
Auction house Sotheby’s gained 1.1 percent on news it tapped Madison Square Garden Company chief Tad Smith as its chief executive.
Dow component DuPont dropped 2.0 percent following a downgrade by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Dow component Disney advanced 0.7 percent as its new film “Cinderella” took in an estimated $ 70 million in ticket sales on its first weekend in theaters.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.08 percent from 2.12 percent Friday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.66 percent from 2.70 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015
