Reply #57: here's the spin: Stocks surge on M&A deals [View All]

[UpInArms]

GM sells GMAC stake; Lucent to be bought by Alcatel

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rallied Monday as solid gains in overseas markets and a slew of merger and acquisition deals led by General Motors Corp's sale of a majority stake in its GMAC financing arm, got the second quarter off to a positive start.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU 11,221.62, +112.30, +1.0% ) was up 108 points at 11,217.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ 2,355.58, +15.79, +0.7% ) rose 15 points to 2,354 while the S&P 500 Index ($SPX 1,306.53, +11.70, +0.9% ) climbed 10 points to 1,305.28.

"The data is a mix of good and bad, but the reports show the economy is continuing to chug along at a steady pace," said John Forelli, senior vice president and portfolio manager at Independence Investments. "But driving the market today is the positive psychology around the mergers that have been announced."

Historical performance suggests invests can expect a solid kick-off to the second quarter.

The Dow industrials have ended the first session of the month with gains 8 out the last 11 times, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

April is still the best month in the year for the blue-chip index, with an average gain of 1.8% since 1950, the Almanac said.

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Crystal-ball gazing or reading tea-leaves :crazy: