U.S. shares rebounded from their biggest one-day loss of the year, as a last-minute diplomatic scramble got under way to keep Greece from defaulting on its debt payments. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.2 percent to 2,062.71 at 11:52 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added 0.2 percent to 17,625.11. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) leaped 0.5 percent to 4,981.93. Most followed shares included Juno, Celgene, Microsoft, Sony, ConAgra, Lowe’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, Berkshire Hathaway, Blackstone, KKR, General Electric, Emerson Electric
In health-care shares, Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JUNO) surged 21 percent to $56.86 after the biopharmaceutical company said Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) will pay it about $1 billion as part of a 10-year partnership to study cures for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Celgene fell 0.3 percent to $114.68.
In technology stocks, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.4 percent to $44.20 after saying it will exit the ad-sales business and has contracted AOL (NYSE:AOL) to handle all its ad sales across Microsoft’s properties.
Sony (NYSE:SNE) sank 5.9 percent to $28.57. Sony plans to raise almost $4 billion through the sale of new stock shares and debt. It will invest the money into its growing image sensors business.
In consumer shares, ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) rose 1.8 percent to $44.23. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $209.2 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. ConAgra also said it was taking a new approach to increasing profit margins, and as part of its new strategy, it will pursue a divestiture of its private label business.
Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) skidded 0.6 percent to $67.16. BMO raised its rating on the home improvement retailer to "outperform" from "market perform," and increased earnings estimates as well. BMO cites stronger housing and overall economic activity in the Southeastern states, where Lowe's has a larger footprint.
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) dropped 2.3 percent to $21.64. FBR cut its rating on the apparel retailer to "market perform" from "outperform," saying a brand turnaround may take a while, and that the company faces sales and margin pressure from a variety of sources.
In financial stocks, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) gained 0.4 percent to $205,822.00 after saying it’s expanding its operations in Australia as part of a push to sell more commercial insurance globally.
Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) fluctuated between gains and losses after the provider of financial advisory services said it will sell its U.S. security services business AlliedBarton to French investment firm Wendel for about $1.67 billion.
KKR (NYSE:KKR) fluctuated and was last down 0.3 percent at $22.72. The global investment firm agreed to pay nearly $30 million to settle charges that it improperly shifted more than $17 million in so-called “broken deal” expenses to investors in its funds without adequate disclosure.
In industrials, General Electric (NYSE:GE) inched up 0.1 percent after agreeing to sell its European private-equity finance business to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. for about $2.2 billion. Separately, GE said the regulatory review of the sale of its appliance business to Electrolux is continuing, meaning the deal won't close by the end of the second quarter as originally planned.
Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) added 0.2 percent to $55.68 after announcing plans to spin off its Network Power unit and explore options for other businesses.