US stocks rise on big biopharma merger

New York - US stocks opened higher on Wednesday as news of a large biopharmaceutical merger offset lackluster data on private-sector hiring.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18 010.74, up 82.54 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.35% at 2 096.81, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.35% to 4 956.69.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced it would buy Synageva BioPharma for $8.4bn, creating a bigger player in treatments for rare diseases.

Payrolls firm ADP estimated the US added just 169 000 private-sector jobs in April, the second month in a row under 200 000, as the petroleum sector downturn continued to pinch the labor market.

Investors are looking ahead to Friday's US Labour Department jobs report for April.

US stocks fell sharply on Tuesday on worries about higher oil prices and the Greek debt crisis.