Wall Street rises on wave of deal-making
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Monday as investors were cheered by a spate of corporate dealmaking over the weekend.
Technology companies made the biggest gains. But investors were doubtful the biggest deal, AT&T’s agreement to buy Time Warner, will happen.
Companies announced almost $100 billion in deals over the last few days. Investors had mixed reactions to the moves, but they were pleased the companies were willing to spend.
“Any time you see a lot of IPOs, a lot of merger activity, it boosts confidence,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, strategist for Voya Investment Strategies.
Big-name technology companies including Apple and Alphabet, which owns Google, rose ahead of reporting their earnings this week. Amazon also rose, giving other consumer companies a boost. Energy companies slipped with the price of oil.
Tech stocks have done very well over the last few months and that could continue as more companies report their earnings. S&P Global Market Intelligence says analysts think earnings for tech companies will grow 6 percent in the third quarter. Overall earnings for companies in the S&P 500 index are expected to rise less than 1 percent.
TD Ameritrade will combine with competitor Scottrade at a time when investors are choosing index funds over stock picking. In a related transaction, TD Bank will also combine with Scottrade Bank. TD Ameritrade slid $1.62, or 4.4 percent, to $35.46.
China Oceanwide Holdings agreed to buy Genworth Financial for $5.43 per share, or $2.7 billion. The financial services firm traded at $25 a share at the end of 2007, before the financial crisis, and its stock hasn’t recovered.
Wireless carrier T-Mobile jumped 9.6 percent after reporting betterthan-expected results and raising its forecasts for new customers. T-Mobile closed at $51.19. It hadn’t traded above $50 a share since October 2007.