U.S.
stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor��s 500 Index poised for a
sixth day of gains, as health-care shares rallied amid a $45.7 billion
bid for Allergan Inc. and earnings from Netflix Inc. to Harley-Davidson
Inc. topped estimates.
Allergan
surged 16 percent after Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.
offered to merge with the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment. Netflix
soared 6.2 percent after saying it expects to increase prices for new
customers. Harley-Davidson Inc. added 8.6 percent after its earnings
release.
The
S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to 1,883.38 at 12:37 p.m. in New York,
headed for its longest rally since September. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average climbed 107.18 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,556.43. Trading in
S&P 500 stocks was 4.3 percent below the 30-day average at this time
of day.
The
S&P 500 has advanced 3.7 percent in the past six days and is now
0.4 percent below its record high reached April 2. The index has added
1.9 percent in 2014. The Dow average is at its highest level since April
3 and within 20 points of its all-time closing high set Dec. 31.
Health-care
stocks paced gains in the S&P 500 today with a 1.2 percent gain, as
a flurry of deal activity boosted the sector. The Nasdaq Biotechnology
Index rallied 3.5 percent as all but three of its 121 members advanced.
Copy Source: Bloomberg
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