US open: Stocks buoyed by M&A news, fiscal stimulus hopes

The buying pressure seen on Wall Street at the end of the prior week appeared carried over into Monday's session, as M&A news helped to offset uncertainty around the upcoming US elections and the pandemic.

Some market commentary also referenced comments from Democratic US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Sunday, in which she voiced support for another fiscal stimulus package as reason behind the better tone in financial markets.

House Democrats were reportedly drafting a new proposal for around $2.4trn of government outlays.

As of 1558 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was climbing 432.66 points to 27,606.18, alongside a gains of 44 points on the S&P 500 to

3,342.35 while the Nasdaq Composite was adding 115 points to 11,028.49.

Investors were also expectant - when not cautious - ahead of a televised debate the next day between the two presidential contenders, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Some analysts were also wary ahead of Friday's monthly non-farm payrolls report, which might validate concerns that the US jobs market is indeed about to stall.

"That optimism will certainly be put to the test this week, with the first US Presidential debate taking place Tuesday evening, jobs report coming Friday, a flurry of economic data the rest of the week and more Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels as the mid-October deadline fast approaches," said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

No major economic reports were scheduled for release on Monday.

On the corporate front meanwhile, all eyes were on Inovio after the US Food and Drug Administration placed a partial hold on the biotechnology outfit's phase 2/3 trial of its Covid-19 vaccine.

There was also a flurry of mergers and acquisitions related news on Monday.

Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to purchase ArcelorMittal's US assets for an estimated enterprise value of $3.3bn.

Caesars Entertainment meanwhile disclosed that it had offered £2.9bn to acquire William Hill.

Devon Energy was also in the spotlight after announcing that it would combine with peer WPX Energy, with the combined company expected to have an enterprise value, the sum of its equity and debt minus cash and equivalents, of approximately $12bn.

Going the other way, Investor AB's Patricia Industries agreed to acquire America's Advanced Instruments, a maker of scientific and analytical instruments, at an enterprise value of $780m.

A report on Sunday by the New York Times alleged that Trump had not paid any personal income tax in 10 of the last 15 years.

That followed another report, published by US Senate Republicans on 23 September, calling into question the potential for conflicts of interest due to Biden's son position on the board of Ukrainian natural gas outfit Burisma during his father's tenure as Vice-president and a time when he was responsible for relations with Kiev.

According to the Tax Policy Centre, 48% of Americans 55 and older do not pay personal federal income tax.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $164.10 5.17%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $73.95 2.95%
American Express Co. (AXP) $98.96 2.80%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $35.46 2.35%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $58.71 2.12%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $110.29 2.02%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.10 1.89%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $198.55 1.85%
Visa Inc. (V) $200.50 1.65%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $94.99 1.63%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $59.31 -0.13%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.94 0.02%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $137.48 0.16%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $124.63 0.32%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $138.46 0.61%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.28 0.65%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $219.62 0.66%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $304.95 0.81%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $146.90 0.85%

S&P 500 - Risers

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $14.94 5.51%
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $11.37 5.18%
Boeing Co. (BA) $164.10 5.17%
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $27.12 5.08%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $9.27 5.05%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $9.98 4.94%
Apache Corp. (APA) $10.33 4.88%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $32.09 4.80%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $285.99 4.65%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $6.34 4.62%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $17.06 -3.12%
Westrock Company (WRK) $34.71 -3.07%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $565.50 -1.49%
Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) $49.73 -1.11%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $110.29 -1.06%
International Paper Co. (IP) $40.79 -0.91%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $58.98 -0.86%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $266.20 -0.74%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $311.76 -0.72%
Packaging Corp. Amer (PKG) $108.72 -0.66%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $285.99 4.65%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $91.01 3.50%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $421.56 3.49%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $31.20 3.48%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.70 3.34%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $7.39 3.14%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $223.23 2.95%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $101.44 2.41%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $85.54 2.41%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $325.35 2.33%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $461.62 -2.23%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $565.50 -1.49%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $266.20 -0.74%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $113.99 -0.38%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $514.44 -0.10%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $299.67 -0.07%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $49.12 -0.05%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.24 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $179.20 0.00%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $20.98 0.36%