NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street shot higher at the start of trading Monday, building on last week's gains, as investors felt buoyed by speculation that interest rates will not rise in the short-term.
Shortly before 10 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average ventured into record territory, trading 54.06 points higher at 9,201.13. On the New York Stock Exchange, 44 million shares changed hands with gainers beating losers 1,413 to 732.
In other markets, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 9.14 to 1,882.58 and the broader S&P 500 index rose 4.44 to 1,125.44.
Bonds were flat to slightly weaker, with trading limited by an absence of significant economic data until Friday's release of the April employment report. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was unchanged in price to yield 5.93 percent.
The dollar was mixed and currency trading was subdued due to holiday closures of financial markets in Tokyo and London.
Deals of the day
In stocks, activity focused on news of several deals, large and small, in a number of market sectors.
Leading the list of newsmakers, shares of auto-part manufacturer Echlin (ECH) rallied 4-11/16 to 52-1/4 on news it has reached a deal to be bought by rival Dana Corp. (DCN) for $4.2 billion in stock and debt, cutting short an unwelcome $3 billion offer by SPX Corp. (SPW). Shares of Dana lost 1-13/16 to 57-3/8 and SPX rose 3 to 75-1/4.
In other news, shares of Pfizer (PFE) whose best-selling impotence drug Viagra has done a lot to lift its stock over the past few months, rose 2-1/8 to 114-1/2 as Pfizer announced it has teamed up with R.P. Scherer Corp. (SHR) to produce a faster-acting Viagra.
And shares of Internet search engine Lycos (LCOS) gained 4-1/8 to 67-1/2 on news of a three-year deal with AT&T (T) to offer a hybrid Internet telephone service. Shares of AT&T rose 11/16 to 61-7/16.
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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