US stocks up as Monsanto surges on takeover talk

New York - Shares of agricultural giant Monsanto surged on Thursday on reports that it could receive a takeover bid from Bayer or BASF as US stocks opened higher.

Monsanto jumped 11.0% after Bloomberg reported that Bayer officials were mulling a bid for the US company. A separate report by StreetInsider.com said German chemical giant BASF might also make a bid.

The broader market was back on a positive track after deep losses on Wednesday.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% at 17 784.84.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 2 072.97, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4% to 4 777.97.