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* Microsoft says looking to buy TikTok's U.S. operations
* Apple approaches $2 trillion market cap
* White House, Congress resume talks over relief deal
* Indexes: Dow +1.01%, S&P 500 +0.91%, Nasdaq +1.58%
(Updates to afternoon)
By Noel Randewich
Aug 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied on Monday as a rebound
in multibillion-dollar deals, including Microsoft's pursuit of
TikTok's U.S. operations, lifted sentiment, and efforts to
hammer out a coronavirus relief bill resumed.
Microsoft MSFT.O jumped 4.8% after it said it would push
ahead with talks to buy the U.S. operations of Chinese-owned
TikTok. President Donald Trump reversed course earlier on a
planned ban of the short-video app. ADT ADT.N surged 59% on news that Alphabet's GOOGL.O
Google was buying a nearly 7% stake in the home security firm
for $450 million in a deal that will allow it to provide service
to customers of its Nest home security devices. Varian Medical Systems Inc VAR.N jumped over 20% after a
$16 billion buyout by Germany's Siemens Healthineers SHLG.DE ,
while Kansas City Southern KSU.N added more than 3% after a
report a group of buyout investors were considering a takeover
bid in a deal of about $20 billion. "The market is revolving around M&A activity possibly
picking up," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of
Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "It means CEOs are
more confident about the future. Otherwise, why would they lay
out billions of dollars?"
Apple Inc AAPL.O rallied for a second straight session
following stunning quarterly results and announcing a
four-for-one stock split. At its current share price of about
$437, the tech giant is about $140 billion short of hitting $2
trillion in market capitalization. Tech .SPLRCT far outpaced gains among the six of 11 major
S&P sectors trading higher.
Congressional Democrats and Trump administration officials
resumed talks aimed at hammering out a coronavirus relief bill
after missing a vital deadline to extend relief benefits to tens
of millions of jobless Americans. A rally in tech-related stocks and trillions of dollars in
monetary and fiscal stimulus have lifted the S&P 500 to within
about 3% of February's record high.
The Labor Department's monthly employment report is due on
Friday, on the heels of last week's weekly jobless claims data
that showed a recovery in the job market appeared to have
stalled in late July.
At 2:30 pm EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 1.01% at 26,694.48 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained
0.91% to 3,300.93.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.58% to 10,915.10.
With the U.S. corporate earnings season now past its
half-way mark, a record number of companies have beaten
dramatically lowered estimates, but the second quarter is still
set to be the low point for earnings this year. Drug distributor McKesson Corp MCK.N gained 6.6% after
boosting its full-year earnings forecast.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.40-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 152 new highs and 14 new lows.
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