US blue chips got off to a flyer, boosted by news from Europe and a resurgent oil price.
The S&P 500 was up 13 points, or 0.6%, at 2,089 after half an hour or so of trading, taking its lead from European markets, which have been lifted by news of another Greek bail-out deal that is set for sign off by the 19 members of the eurozone.
Mid-caps, as measured by the S&P 400, were also going well, with the index up six points (0.4%) at 1,478.
The feel-good factor was less pronounced in the cheaper seats, with the small-cap benchmark, the Russell 2,000 index, up three points (0.2%) at 1,138.
Energy stocks were wanted as the price of crude hit a seven-month high, after the American Petroleum Institute’s oil inventories numbers, released yesterday afternoon, surprised the market.
The API said stockpiles fell by 5.1mln barrels last week.
The US Energy Information Administration is set to release its data on oil inventories later today.
The news lifted the price of West Texas Intermediate to $49.38 a barrel, up 77 cents on the day.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), up more than 8%, was the pick of the energy firms while oil rig leasing outfit Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG), up 5.5%, was also buoyed by the news.
On the New York Stock Exchange Computer Sciences Corp (NYSE:CSC), up a third, was the top performer as it was announced it would be acquiring Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co’s (NYSE:HPE) information technology services business.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose almost 11% on the news.
On Nasdaq, Innocoll Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:INNL) topped the tree with a near 50% rise after its collagen-based post-operative painkiller, Xaracoll, passed its final trial.
Preview
After yesterday’s handsome gains, US stocks are set to press higher again today, following the lead of European markets.
European stocks have raced ahead after another Greek bail-out deal was prepared for sign off by the 19 members of the eurozone.
Spread betting quotes point to a 70 point rise to 17,776 at the outset for the Dow, and a nine point increase at 2,085 for the S&P 500.
The controversial Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) has decided that $62bn is not enough and has rejected German drugs giant Bayer AG’s bid for the company.
The seeds firm has not totally closed the door on the Germans, indicating it is willing to start talking turkey at a higher price.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) shot up more than 11% in pre-market reading as it confirmed last night it is to spin off its information technology services business.
In this morning’s announcements, high-end jeweler Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF) failed to sparkle with its first quarter update.
The company reported its sharpest year-on-year sales decline in six quarters. The company said it expected full-year profits would be down on last year by a mid-single digit percentage.