US stocks rise on Pfizer deal, higher oil prices

2015-02-05 11:20:29

(MENAFN- AFP) US stocks Thursday opened higher as oil prices rose and pharma giant Pfizer announced it would acquire Hospira for $17 billion.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,762.38, up 89.36 points (0.51 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 9.87 (0.48 percent) to 2,051.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 12.92 (0.27 percent) at 4,729.63.

The benchmark US oil contract gained 65 cents to $49.08 one day after falling nearly nine percent and two days after rising seven percent.

Dow member Pfizer advanced 3.2 percent as it announced the Hospira deal, adding Hospira's portfolio of sterile injectable treatments and biosimilar drugs to Pfizer's broad pharma offerings.

Hospira soared 35 percent.

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.