Possible Mega Merger-
Stocks Climb on ConocoPhillips Talks
Monday December 12, 9:59 am ET
By Christopher Wang, AP Business Writer
Stocks Move Higher on ConocoPhillips Talks As Investors Look Past Higher Oil Prices
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks climbed in early trading Monday as ConocoPhillips' possible acquisition of Burlington Resources Inc. helped investors look past higher oil prices.
Forecasts for more snowstorms to hit the Northeast later this week sent crude futures higher, although OPEC said it will keep producing oil at current record levels before considering whether to scale back early next year. A barrel of light crude rose 76 cents to $60.15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Aside from acquisitions and an upbeat broker report on Google Inc., there was little economic news to drive the market. But traders were already looking ahead to Tuesday's monthly retail sales figures and the Federal Reserve's update on its interest-rate policy.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 29.14, or 0.27 percent, to 10,807.72.
Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3.84, or 0.3 percent, at 1,263.21, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 8.20, or 0.36 percent, to 2,264.93.
Bond prices rose, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipping to 4.52 percent from 4.53 percent late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading, while gold prices climbed to fresh highs.
ConocoPhillips is nearing a deal to acquire oil and gas producer Burlington for more than $30 billion, The Wall Street Journal said Monday. Together, the companies' annual revenue would be more than $211 billion. ConocoPhillips fell $1.92 to $61.15, while Burlington surged $6.51 to $82.60.
Movie studio Paramount Pictures, a unit of media conglomerate Viacom Inc., agreed to buy DreamWorks SKG Inc. in a $1.6 billion deal involving $775 million in cash and $825 million of assumed debt. General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal had been in talks with DreamWorks for most of this year. Viacom was up 47 cents at $34.89, and GE rose 14 cents to $35.67.
Google Inc. jumped $5.10 to $414.30 after Credit Suisse First Boston raised the company's price target by $75 to $475, helped by forecasts for accelerating revenue in the online advertising market.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gained 2.48, or 0.36 percent, to 691.25.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 2.17 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.07 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.41 percent, and France's CAC-40 was higher by 0.17 percent.
New York Stock Exchange: nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: nasdaq.com
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