LONDON: US stocks closed with solid gains this Monday, boosted by some M&A announcements and earnings reports. In the merge and acquisition front, Visa Inc. said it would buy Visa Europe in a deal valued at up to $23.4 billion, while there were also some huge announcements in the food and the beauty sectors.
Additionally, improved manufacturing and construction data in the US boosted investors’ confidence in the local economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 165.22 points, or 0.9%, to 17,828.76. The S&P 500 rose 24.69 points, or 1.2%, to 2,104.05, The Nasdaq Composite gained 73.40 points, or 1.5%, at 5,127.15.
“The DJIA advanced 165 points, closing the day at 17.828.76 and the daily chart shows that the index remains near its October high, having held well above its moving averages and with the technical indicators heading higher near overbought territory”, said Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet. “In the 4 hours chart however, the technical indicators lack upward momentum, hovering right above their mid-lines, whilst the index recovered above a mild bullish 20 SMA. Overall the upside remains favored, with a break above 17,854 required to confirm additional advances”.
