Wall Street indexes rise on M&A news, profits

(Reuters) - Merck, a Dow component, posted quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations while Halliburton Co. , the world's No. 2 oil services company, also topped forecasts and its shares rose to their highest since June 2006.




Also on Monday, Transocean Inc. , the world's largest offshore driller, said it had agreed to buy drilling rig operator GlobalSantaFe Corp. for $18 billion. That proposed merger and other smaller deals showed the Wall Street takeover spree still had legs, analysts said.


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GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks advance on results, M&A deals

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 23 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
as better-than-expected profits from Merck & Co. and a nearly
$18 billion takeover in the oil services industry reassured
investors, while Treasuries eased on the respite from risk
aversion over fears about the subprime credit market.




The fall in U.S. government bond prices pulled benchmark
yields back from recent six-week lows, while the dollar was
little changed and within striking distance of a record low
against the euro hit overnight.


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Merck profit jumps, raises forecast

(Reuters) - Excluding special items, Merck earned 82 cents per share.
On that basis, analysts' average forecast was 72 cents per
share, according to Reuters Estimates.





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Merck KGaA to cooperate on growth hormone products

(Reuters) - The drug is in phase I/II of clinical trials, the companies
said. Merck Serono is Merck's biopharmaceutical division.




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