Wall Street climbed today on hopes Greece and its lenders will reach a deal to avert a default. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.7 percent to 2,124.55 at 3:12 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added 0.6 percent to 18,129.05, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 0.8 percent to 5,155.79.
The Greek government pitched a last-ditch reform package to its creditors yesterday Eurozone finance ministers, meeting in Brussels, hailed the proposal as a step forward. Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs meetings of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said the proposal could be the basis for a deal later this week.
DATA:
Sales of existing homes rose in May, hitting fastest pace since November 2009 and rebounding from a drop in April.
MOVERS:
Cigna (NYSE:CI) jumped 5.1 percent to $163.15 after the board of healthcare-services company rejected a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Anthem (NYSE:ANTM).
Humana (NYSE:HUM) fell 5.1 percent to $191.77, reversing earlier gains. Media reports said Cigna along with Aetna are participating in an auction to acquire the provider of health insurance and Medicare plans. Aetna (NYSE:AET) advanced 4.1 percent to $129.17.
Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) rose 0.9 percent to $70.00. Baxter's biopharmaceutical spin-off Baxalta will be a member of the when it begins trading July 1, replacing QEP Resources which will move to the S&P Midcap 400.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) inched up 0.5 percent to $34.35 after it agreed to acquire meningitis vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline PLC for about $130 million, a move to expand its global reach in preventing meningococcal disease.
Fitbit (NYSE:FIT), a provider of health and fitness products, surged 12.5 percent to $36.57, extending gains on its third day of trading, after jumping more than 50 percent on its debut Thursday.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) rose 2.9 percent to $84.88. The world’s largest social network will unveil new mobile ad formats at an advertising conference in Cannes, France..
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) gained 2.7 percent to $2.66. The chipmaker is considering various strategic alternatives, including a breakup or a spin-off of various businesses, Reuters reported.
Williams (NYSE:WMB) surged 23.8 percent to $59.82 after the natural-gas pipeline giant said it had rejected an unsolicited buyout offer worth $48 billion, but didn't specify who had made the bid. Today, Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE:ETE) said it was bidding $53.1 billion for Williams.
ADRs of Carnival (NYSE:CCL) rose 2.6 percent to $51.89 after Deutsche Bank AG said the cruise line operator’s second-quarter earnings may beat forecasts, and raised its recommendation on the stock to buy.
COMMODITIES
Gold for August delivery, the most commonly traded contract, closed down 1.5 percent at $1,184.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude futures were down 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $62.82 a barrel by 1:37 p.m. U.S. crude futures fell 30 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $59.31 a barrel, ahead of the expiry of the front-month July contract.