Autos drive blue chips higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Blue chips rose Monday morning as investors welcomed the majority sale of Chrysler to a private equity firm and other deals news, but the tech sector declined, losing momentum after the recent rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 25.68 to 13,351.90, Charts) added 0.2 percent over an hour into the session, while the broader S&P 500 index (up 0.68 to 1,506.53, Charts) was little changed. The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (down 6.64 to 2,555.58, Charts) lost 0.2 percent.

Stocks rose Friday after a mild reading on inflation raised bets that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates later in the year.

Stocks continued the advance Monday morning, thanks to a slew of merger news.

DaimlerChrysler said it will sell an 80 percent stake in Chrysler, its U.S. auto unit, for $7.4 billion to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. DaimlerChrysler (up $2.14 to $84.14, Charts) shares jumped more than 3 percent in morning trade.

Shares of automaker rivals Ford Motor (up $0.42 to $8.79, Charts, Fortune 500) and General Motors (up $1.62 to $31.08, Charts, Fortune 500) jumped in tandem. Bear Stearns boosted its rating on GM, Reuters reported, saying that the Chrysler sale was beneficial to both GM and Ford.

In other deals news, Mylan Labs (down $2.72 to $19.68, Charts) said it will buy German drugmaker Merck KGaA's generic drug unit for $6.7 billion. Mylan shares slumped on the news.

Nokia (up $0.93 to $26.00, Charts) shares gained after the telecom boosted its market share forecast for the second quarter.

Yahoo (down $0.45 to $29.60, Charts, Fortune 500), Dell (down $0.48 to $25.34, Charts, Fortune 500) and Juniper Networks (down $0.42 to $23.49, Charts) were among the heavily-traded tech shares dragging on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers 8 to 7 on volume of 310 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners 8 to 5 on volume of 500 million shares.

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery rose 13 cents to $62.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note at 4.67 percent, roughly where it stood late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar slipped against the euro and rose against the yen.