US stocks rise, led by gains for financial and technology stocks; Atmel jumps on Dealogic deal
U.S. stocks rose broadly Monday as investors looked beyond the uncertain timing of a possible interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. All 10 industry groups in the Standard and Poor's 500 index gained. Technology and financial stocks rose most. Chipmaker Atmel jumped after accepting a bid from Britain's Dialog Semiconductor.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 167 points, or 1 percent, to 16,553 as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 18 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,976 and the Nasdaq composite gained 41 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,868.
FINANCIAL BOUNCEBACK: Stocks of major banks are rising after sharp falls on Friday. Those declines were caused by fears that the Fed's decision to keep interest rates at historic lows would make it difficult for banks to charge their customers more to borrowers. Citigroup rose 68 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $50.96.
CASHING IN THE CHIPS: Atmel, a California-based semiconductor company, surged after the company accepted an offer worth about $4.6 billion in cash and stock from Britain's Dialog Semiconductor. Atmel provide electronics products used in the industrial, automotive, consumer, communications, and computing markets. Its stock jumped $1.12, or 15 percent, to $8.39.
BUILDING BOOM: Homebuilder Lennar's gained after its fiscal third-quarter results beat analysts' estimates. The company delivered more homes and saw a rise in new orders thanks to an improving housing market. The company stock gained 88, or nearly 2 percent, to $52.59.
VW SKIDS: U.S.-traded shares of Volkswagen tumbled 18 percent to $29.78 following allegations that the German carmaker rigged U.S. emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars. The drop wiped out 15 billion euros ($16.9 billion) in stock value. The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. said the German company had skirted clean air rules and could faces fines of more than $18 billion.
EUROPE RISING: Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.5 percent while the CAC-40 in France climbed 1.4 percent. Germany's DAX rose 0.7 percent.
FED IN REAR: The recovery in stocks in Europe and the U.S. comes after the Federal Reserve decided last week to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold, raising concerns about the outlook for global growth. That prompted the biggest drop in two weeks for U.S. stocks.
ASIA'S DAY: Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 fell 2 percent and Seoul's Kospi lost 1.6 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.9 percent. Tokyo was closed for a three-day holiday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.29 to $46.31 per barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 84 cents to $48.31 in London.
CURRENCIES: The euro was down 1.1 percent at $1.1186 while the dollar rose 0.5 percent to 120.61 yen.
BONDS: Bond price fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.19 percent from 2.13 percent on Friday.