US stocks rise after $21bn AbbVie-Pharmacyclics deal

NEW YORK: US stocks traded higher ending a two-day downturn Thursday, with AbbVie's $21 billion takeover of cancer drug developer Pharmacyclics giving a charge to trade.

Also supporting buying were strong results from retail chains Krogers and Costco.

Thirty minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 35.67 points (0.20 percent) at 18,132.57.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.99 (0.14 percent) at 2,101.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 16.35 (0.33 percent) to 4,983.49.

Shares of pharma giant AbbVie fell 2.1 percent after the high-priced takeover of Pharmacyclics, valued at $261.25 a share in stock and cash.

But it sent the shares of Pharmacyclics, which markets together with Johnson & Johnson the leukemia and lymphoma drug Imbruvica, up $10.6 percent to $254.81.

Johnson & Johnson meanwhile gained 1.2 percent.

Grocery chain Kroger advanced 5.0 percent on a 23 percent rise in profit in the fourth quarter through January 31. The company predicted 3-4 percent sales growth for this year.

Big box retailer Costco also beat analysts' expectations with a 29 percent rise in profits on a four percent gain in sales in the quarter through February 15. Costco shares jumped 2.1 percent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.10 percent from 2.12 percent, while the 30-year dropped to 2.70 percent from 2.71 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.