NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Monday as investors were cheered by a spate of corporate dealmaking over the weekend. Technology companies made the biggest gains. But investors doubted the biggest deal, AT&T’s agreement to buy Time Warner, will happen.
Companies announced almost $100 billion in deals over the last few days. Investors had mixed reactions to the moves, but were pleased the companies were willing to spend.
“Any time you see a lot of IPOs, a lot of merger activity, it boosts confidence,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist for Voya Investment Strategies.
Big-name tech companies including Apple and Alphabet, which owns Google, rose ahead of earnings reports due this week. Amazon also rose, giving other consumer companies a boost. Energy companies slipped with the price of oil.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 77.32 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,223.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10.17 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,151.33. The Nasdaq composite climbed 52.42 points, or 1 percent, to 5,309.83.
Over the weekend, telecom giant AT&T agreed to pay $85.4 billion for Time Warner, the entertainment conglomerate that owns HBO, CNN and Warner Bros. Time Warner jumped almost 8 percent Friday but remains far below the $107.50 a share AT&T agreed to pay.
Both presidential tickets have already expressed skepticism about the deal and it’s not clear if regulators will let the companies combine. The concern is that the combined company might favor its own media properties at the expense of those owned by rivals. In recent months the government has stepped in to stop a series of big deals, including two major health insurance mergers.
Investors also worried about the price; AT&T has about $117 billion in long-term debt.
AT&T fell 63 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $36.86 while Time Warner lost $2.74, or 3.1 percent, to $86.74.
