(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks soared on Monday buoyed by hints in China of more monetary easing and by red hot merger and acquisition activity at home.
As of noon in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 272 points to 17985 while the Nasdaq rallied 43 points to 4934 and the S&P 500 gained 23 points to 2084.
The three major U.S. averages all broke a losing streak at the end of last week but still posted steep weekly losses.
U.S. equities were lifted today as China's Shanghai Composite soared 2.6% to finish at a seven-year high after China's central bank chief signaled over the weekend that the country had capacity to ease monetary policy and boost sluggish growth on top of a series of steps take since November including cutting interest rates twice and slashing banks' reserve requirements.
Meanwhile kicking off the economic calendar today in the U.S. the government released data on personal income and consumer spending for February with the latter rising a slight 0.1% compared to forecasts for a 0.2% increase. Personal income meanwhile jumped a greater-than-expected 0.4%.
The National Association of Realtors also said pending home sales in February reached their highest level since June 2013.
Looking ahead at the holiday-shortened week investors will also be focused on two key jobs reports with ADP's monthly look at private sector employment out Wednesday while the government employment report will be out Friday despite the Good Friday holiday.
The timing of an interest rate hike remains a key concern for investors after Fed chair Janet Yellen last week signalled that the central bank would still be cautious even though gradual rate hikes are likely this year.
Oil prices were down today as officials from Iran and six world powers negotiate a deal over Tehran's nuclear program that could add more crude to an already oversupplied market if sanctions against Tehran are lifted. A deadline to find a preliminary agreement has been set for Tuesday. May crude futures in New York were last down 47 cents at $48.40 a barrel while gold futures dropped $16 to $1185 an ounce as U.S. stocks climbed.
In corporate activity UnitedHealth () has agreed to buy pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran (NASDAQ:CTRX) in a deal worth $12.78 billion representing a premium of 27% to Catamaran's closing price on Friday. Shares of Catamaran jumped almost 24%.
Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA) has agreed to buy Auspex (NASDAQ:ASPX) for $101 per share in cash or $3.5 billion adding a portfolio of drugs for central nervous system disorders.
has agreed to acquire Hyperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HPTX) for $46 per share in cash or $1.1 billion on a fully diluted basis. Shares of Hyperion added 8%.
In other news () is planning to close its Canadian chain Future Shop in a move that will hurt its earnings by 10 to 20 cents per share this year with costs estimated at about $200 to $280 million. The company said it will close 66 of its Future Shops and convert 65 into outlets.
Yahoo () and () have reportedly extended talks designed to renegotiate their 10-year search partnership for 30 days. The two had teamed up in 2010 to better compete with ().
European markets ended higher despite stocks in Athens falling hurt by the uncertainty of whether Greece would be able to strike a deal with its creditors before the country runs out of cash. Talks were held over the weekend with Greece pledging to finalize its list of reforms by Monday.
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