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August 29, 2008 1:13:51 CDT

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Merck News Gives Markets Shot in the Arm

Posted Jul 23, 07 4:24 CDT in Business 

(Newser) – Stocks rallied across the board today, after a number of major buyouts and earnings reports diverted traders' attentions from the foundering subprime market and an enervated dollar once again. The Dow was up 2.34 to 13943.42 after drug-maker Merck, a major component of the index, reported its best earnings since April, a far better result than expected.

The Nasdaq added 2.98 to 2690.58 and the S&P gained 7.47 to close at 1541.57. A major oil merger also helped to buoy markets: GlobalSantaFe, the world's second-largest offshore oil driller, agreed to a buyout by rival Transocean, the world's largest. Both companies saw a leap in share value; their merger will create a driller with a market cap around $48 bil.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Busy traders enter and exit Bear Stearns.   (Getty Images)
The headquarters for securities firm Bear Stearns is shown March 16, 2006 in a New York file photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)   (Associated Press)
A proposed merger between Transocean and GlobalSantaFe gave energy companies a boost, and may lead to more deals in the oil-drilling sector   (Index Open)
The New York Stock Exchange,   (Getty Images)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, July 23, 2007. Stocks rose sharply Monday after a fresh round of buyout news offered evidence that Wall Street's penchant for dealmaking...   (Associated Press)
Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, to the media empire he has spent a lifetime building. But with the sudden departure of a director in protest of the deal with News Corp. and more signs of dissent...   (Associated Press)
Co.'s request to market a successor to its withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx in the United States, the drugmaker said Friday, April 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Mike Dere, file)   (Associated Press)
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