U.S. MARKET AVERAGES
U.S. stocks opened in the positive, recovering from Friday’s heavy losses with the help of bargain-hunting. A strong earnings report released by Ford helped encourage buyers back into the market after the Dow Jones industrial dropped 213 points last Friday.
The financial sector disappointed investors after Bank of America Corp posted quarterly results which missed estimates.
Ford Motor (
F: chart) posted Q4 profit increase on strength in its finance arm and the sale of its rental car unit Hertz Corp. Quarterly results exceeded analyst estimates.
Bank of America (
BAC: chart), the No. 2 U.S. bank, posted Q4 2% decline in net profit, reflecting loan losses and weaker trading results.
Credit card and travel services company
American Express Co. (
AXP: chart), a Dow component, is scheduled to report results after market close.
In deal news, a group including grocery store operator
Supervalu Inc (
SVU: chart) and drug store chain
CVS Corp. (
CVS: chart) agreed to buy rival retailer
Albertsons Inc. (
ABS: chart) for $17.4 billion in cash and stock.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (
RL: chart) agreed to buy back its Polo jeans business from
Jones Apparel Group Inc. (
JNY: chart).
The semiconductor sector moved higher in the early going to erase some of Friaday's losses. Gold stocks were also strong, moving to the upside. The airline and broker/dealer sectors showed strength as well.
Energy stocks moved to the downside early Monday on profit taking. The biotech sector posted a modest decline as well.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 12.65, or 0.12%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 1.34, or 0.11%, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 5.88, or 0.26%.
Bonds sold off as stocks rose, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.40% from 4.35% late Friday.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Albertsons Inc. (
ABS: chart) agreed to be acquired by a group including grocery store operator
Supervalu Inc (
SVU: chart) and drug store chain
CVS Corp. (
CVS: chart) for $17.4 billion in cash and stock. Albertson’s stockholders will receive $26.29 in cash. The company’s shares rose 4.4%.
YAHOO (
YHOO: chart) was upgraded at Bear Stearns to outperform from peer perform. The stock gained 1.11%.
Citigroup (
C: chart) was downgraded at UBS to neutral from buy. The stock gained 1.1%.
The Sports Authority Inc (
TSA: chart) agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners and members of the company's senior management team for roughly $1.3 billion in cash and assumed debt. The deal values Sports Authority shares at $37.25 each and the transfer is expected to close in the second quarter. The company’s shares soared 20%.
Datawatch Corp (
DWCH: chart) reported Q1 earnings of $64,000, or a penny a share, on revenue of $4.7 million, missing estimates of 3 cents a share. The company’s shares dropped 26.4%.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected
Research In Motion’s (
RIMM: chart) appeal to reverse a lower-court ruling that found its BlackBerry wireless email device violated patents held by NTP Inc., a Virginia patent-holding firm. The case now moves to a federal district court in Virginia, where a judge will decide whether to reinstate an injunction against the U.S. sale of BlackBerries. RIM’s shares fell 2.6%.
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS NEWS 
