Wall Street equities opened the week positively, pushing higher after last week’s record highs.
The move higher is supported by another mini rally in oil prices. West Texas crude futures pushed up 1.4% to just above US$45 per barrel, while Brent was changing hands at around US$47.50.
Positive European markets and hopes for new Chinese stimulus added encouragement to investors.
In New York the Dow Jones started about 50 points, nearly 0.3%, higher at 18,626 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.3% and 0.4% to 2,190 and 5,254 respectively.
Mergers and acquisition talk provides some distraction on a summers day.
Post Properties Inc (NYSE:PPS) was a notable early riser, up 8.26% to US$67.36, after the apartment real estate investment trust agreed to be bought out by a rival in US$4bn deal.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) was reportedly vying for Uber rival Lyft, although the media reports have yet to be substantiated.
Water treatment group Xylem (NYSE:XYL) moved higher with the news that its being bought out with private equity money, in a deal worth US$1.7bn.
Elsewhere, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and video games developer Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) were both in focus after regulatory filings revealed hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb has been picking up shares into his Third Point fund.