The dollar, the Japanese yen
and government bonds all posted declines as investors saw less need for
safe-haven investments.
In a flurry of data releases, China reported a
stronger-than-expected 13.9% increase in August industrial production.
Retail sales also rose sharply, while the August inflation rate of 3.5%
was in line with market expectations and calming concerns that Beijing
would take more aggressive action to slow lending.
In Basel, Switzerland, global regulators agreed on Sunday to new
rules aimed at strengthening the existing capital requirements for
banks.
The minimum common equity requirement will be raised from 2% to
4.5%. Banks will also be required to hold a capital conservation buffer
of 2.5% to withstand future periods of stress bringing the total common
equity requirements to 7%, MarketWatch and other news outlets reported.
European and U.S. banking shares were broadly higher after getting some clarity on capital requirements.
No major U.S. economic reports are due for release Monday.
Deal news added to bullish sentiment. HP (
HPQ) and ArcSight (
ARST)
confirmed earlier reports today, announcing that they have signed a
definitive agreement for HP to acquire ArcSight, a security and
compliance management company, for $43.50 per share, or an enterprise
value of $1.5 billion.
Hertz (
HTZ) has raised its offer for rental car company Dollar
Thrifty (
DTG) to about $1.43 billion from $1.2 billion in an effort to
thwart a rival bid by Avis, according the Wall Street Journal. Dollar
Thrifty's board has accepted Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s new
$50-per-share offer -- up from the $41 it offered in April -- and
amended the companies' merger agreement, the Journal reported on its
website Sunday evening.
The move comes just days before shareholders were scheduled to vote
on Hertz's original proposal and as some Dollar Thrifty shareholders
have protested the board's rejection of a $1.3 billion cash-and-stock
counteroffer from rival Avis Budget Group Inc. (
CAR).
In other news, OXiGENE (
OXGN) jumped in morning trading after
revealing positive results from a randomized, controlled, Phase 2/3
study of ZYBRESTAT were presented at the 14th International Thyroid
Congress in Paris.
Xerox (XRX) is among the early active gainers. Its shares could
double, says the cover story of this week's Barron's. In a striking
sign of where it sees its future, the copy-machine icon has started to
run Cleveland's traffic-violations system. Xerox is installing and
monitoring cameras at intersections, exchanging information with
motor-vehicle departments about violators, processing payments of fines
and recommending safety improvements, like more signs or longer yellow
lights, the feature says.
Among active decliners, Seattle Genetics (
SGEN) announced that its
phase IIb clinical trial of lintuzumab (SGN-33) in older patients with
acute myeloid leukemia (AML) did not meet its primary endpoint of
extending overall survival. Lintuzumab is a naked monoclonal antibody
that targets the CD33 antigen. As a result of the outcome of this
trial, the company will discontinue its development program for
lintuzumab.
Oil futures are above $77 a barrel. Oil is on the rise in early
morning trade, lifted on optimism about the Chinese economy in
particular as the country increased both crude and copper imports in
August. Gold, meanwhile, is little changed while investors' appetite
for safe haven assets may be losing steam on improved global economic
sentiment.