U.S. stocks finish higher on mergers, earnings

4:30 pm ET Jul 23, 2007

DJIA

13,943

+92.34

S&P

1,541

+7.47

NASDAQ

2,690

+2.98

10Yr

4.96%

+0.008

U.S. stocks finish higher on mergers, earnings

NEW YORK
Stocks closed higher Monday, bouncing back from Friday's decline, on
above-forecast results from Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. and
merger news in the financial, oil-drilling and equipment-rental
sectors.

FundWatch: Cash private equity deals seen flooding mutual funds

Thanks to the recent flood of cash from private equity deals and
mergers, analysts and mutual fund managers foresee a strong boost for
U.S. share prices.

Merck posts 12% growth in quarterly profit; 2007 target lifted

BOSTON
Merck & Co. generated 12% growth in second-quarter profit, financial
results showed Monday, as strong sales of such products as asthma drug
Singulair and new vaccines RotaTeq and Gardasil powered the
improvement.