Tech Leads Stock Gains

Stocks notched more gains Tuesday, as Wall Street kicked off what's expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading. The AP reports:

• The Dow rose 0.4%, climbing 159.36 points to 37,545.33.
• The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, finishing less than 0.5% below its all-time high set nearly two years ago. The benchmark index is coming off eight straight weekly gains, its longest winning streak since 2017. The gain was 20.12 points for a close at 4,774.75.
• The Nasdaq ended the day 0.5% higher, rising 81.60 points to 15,074.57.

Trading was relatively light as US markets reopened following the Christmas Day holiday. Still, the latest gains were widespread, with advancers outnumbering decliners by nearly 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Technology and industrial stocks accounted for a big share of the gains. Intel climbed 5.2% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Caterpillar added 1.8%. Energy stocks climbed as the price of US crude oil rose 2.7%. Hess closed 1.4% higher. Solid gains by smaller company stocks also helped lift the market, pushing the Russell 2000 index 1.2% higher. Some stocks surged on company deal news. Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb said Tuesday that it will acquire RayzeBio in a $4.1 billion deal, just days after buying Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion. Bristol Myers shares fell 1.6%, while RayzeBio doubled to $61.40, close to the $62.50 that each share will fetch in its acquisition. Shares in HollySys Automation Technologies jumped 5.2% after the company received an updated buyout offer from a consortium led by Dazheng Group Acquisition.

Stratasys vaulted 13% to $14.82 per share after Nano Dimension announced it has offered to pay $16.50 per share in cash for the maker of 3D printers. Stratasys rejected an earlier buyout bid from Nano Dimension in April. Gracell Biotechnologies surged 60.3% after the Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical company agreed to be acquired by AztraZeneca. Investors have been encouraged by reports showing inflation is on the decline even as the economy appears stronger than expected. This week will be light on economic reports, per the AP.

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