S&P 500 Cracks 2,000 Milestone, Markets Cheer Fast Food Merger

(RTTNews) - The S&P 500 rose above 2,000 on Monday for the first time, powered by merger news and hopes that ultra-accommodative monetary policy will continue for some time.

The S&P 500 SPX gained 12 points, or 0.6 percent, hit an intraday record above 2,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 100 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,100, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 26 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,565.

In corporate news, Burger King (BKW) is in talks to buy Tim Hortons (THI) and form a new publicly listed company that would be based in Canada. The deal would make it the world's third-largest fast-food restaurant company.

Burger King shares rose 16 percent, while Tim Hortons is up 19 percent.

Swiss drug maker Roche will buy California's InterMune (ITMN) for $8.3 billion. InterMune shares surged up 35.5 percent.

Aerospace and defense giant Boeing Co. (BA) announced Monday that it has received an order by Singapore-based BOC Aviation for 82 airplanes, valued at $8.8 billion at list prices. Boeing shares rose 0.7 percent.

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) shares rose 4 percent after a favorable note from JP Morgan.

Another U.S. mall fixture, Ann (ANN), operator of Ann Taylor stores, is up 6 percent amid pressure from an activist investor to sell itself.

Wall Street followed European stocks higher, with the major averages across the Atlantic extending a recent rally.

In economic news, sales of new single-family homes fell 2.4 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 412,000, the Commerce Department said Monday.

It was the slowest pace of new home sales in four months, as demand was relatively weaker in all regions except the South.

Economists expected a reading of 430,000. July sales were down 4.3 percent from a year earlier.