Monsanto jumps on Bayer bid, US stocks edge up

New York - Monsanto shares jumped on Monday after German chemicals giant Bayer said it had bid $62bn for the US agricultural giant as US stocks opened slightly higher.

Monsanto climbed 6.2% on news of the Bayer bid, which comes amid a wave of consolidation in the agrochemical sector with DuPont-Dow Chemical and other deals. Monsanto has not responded publicly to the offer.

There were no major US economic releases on Monday, but the calendar this week includes housing data and the second estimate of US economic growth for the first quarter.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 506.39, up less than 0.1%.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to 2 052.99, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2% at 4 780.63.