New York - US stocks jumped on Monday in early trade helped by news that Dow member UnitedHealth would pay $12.8bn for rival pharmacy-benefit manager Catamaran.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17 972.64, up 259.98 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 surged 0.98% to 2 081.18, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.79% to 4 930.04.