Midday Dow at 11,866, up 42 points.
NEW YORK (AP) — Energy stocks led indexes higher Monday on the
first day of trading since the growing unrest in Egypt sent stocks
to their biggest one-day drop in more than three months.
Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 1 percent after it reported that its
quarterly profit beat Wall Street’s expectations. Massey Energy Co.
jumped 16 percent after Alpha Natural Resources Inc. said that it
would buy the coal producer in a $7.1 billion deal. Alpha Natural
Resources fell 8 percent.
The Massey deal suggests “maybe coal isn’t dead,” said Kim Caughey
Forrest, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. It
also raises hopes for similar deals in the future, she said.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 29 points, or 0.3 percent,
to 11,852 in midday trading. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500
index rose 6, or 0.5 percent, to 1,282. The Nasdaq composite index
gained 7, or 0.3 percent, to 2,693.
Eight of the 10 company groups that make up the S&P index rose.
Energy companies gained 1.7 percent, the most of any group.
Concerns remained over Egypt’s impact on oil prices, especially if
the Suez Canal, a key route for oil tankers and cargo ships, may be
closed. Oil prices rose 1.6 percent to $90.75 a barrel.
“The market wants to work its way higher,” said Sam Stovall, chief
investment strategist of Standard & Poor’s. “The big worry is the
unknown — the cascading effects that could occur.”
