Stocks Rally Early Monday
(AP) -- Stocks are rallying Monday morning as the tensions between the U.S. and North Korea that flared last week appeared to ease. Technology companies and banks are making some of the largest gains, and all 11 industrial groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 index are moving higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 jumped 21 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,462 as of 10:12 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 138 points, or 0.6 percent, to 21,996. The Nasdaq composite added 65 points, or 1 percent, to 6,321. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies climbed 12 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,386.
Last week was the worst for stocks since late March, as the S&P 500 fell more than 1.4 percent. Rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea startled investors out of the complacency that has weighed on the stock market for most of this year. That eased Monday after the top U.S. military officer said the country wants to resolve the standoff peacefully.
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NEW BUYER NETS NEFF: Equipment rental company Neff said it received a buyout offer worth $25 per share, or $596 million. It did not say who made the offer, but Neff said its board has decided the new offer is superior to a bid from H&E Equipment Services that the company accepted last month. H&E Equipment has the right to match the new offer and is entitled to a breakup payment if Neff it acquired by another company. Neff climbed $3.85, or 17.6 percent, to $25.70. H&E's offer valued Neff at $21.07 a share.
H&E Equipment lost 61 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $20.99.
FRIENDLY NABORS: Drilling technology developer Tesco said it will be acquired by drilling contractor Nabors Industries in an all-stock deal. The companies said Tesco is being valued at $4.62 a share. Tesco added 48 cents, or 12.2 percent, to $4.38. Nabors lost 21 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $6.59.
STICKER SHOCK? Fiat Chrysler climbed after Automotive News reported that a Chinese car maker offered to buy the company. It did not identify that company and said Fiat Chrysler rejected the offer because it wasn't high enough, but investors hoped another bid would come. Fiat Chrysler stock gained 81 cents, or 7 percent, to $12.42.
ENERGY: U.S. crude oil rose 10 cents to $48.92 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 2 cents to $52.12 a barrel in London.
BONDS: Bond prices turned lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.21 percent from 2.19 percent late Friday. That helped banks, as higher bond yields mean higher interest rates and greater profits on mortgages and other loans.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 109.55 yen from 109.04 yen. The euro fell to $1.1778 from $1.1824.
OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX jumped 1.2 percent, as did the CAC 40 in France. In Britain, the FTSE 100 index added 0.8 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.4 percent and the South Korean Kospi rose 0.6 percent. Japanese stocks fell sharply as investors played catch-up after an extended holiday weekend. The Nikkei ended 1 percent lower.
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