The markets extended its gains during the midday with the Dow climbing 71 points to 20,908. Nasdaq gained 20 points to 5,877.
The European Commission has approved the proposed $85.4 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner. The companies are still awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Justice. AT&T anticipates closing the deal by the end of 2017.
Plaintiffs in a private class action lawsuit filed over the bankruptcy of subprime lender NovaStar Mortgage have finally reached an agreement with the financial institutions who were accused of misleading investors. Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo have agreed to pay $165 million to settle the suit led by New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund. The defendants have denied doing anything wrong.
General Motors expects to rehire 500 workers at their Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan in 2018. A total of 1,100 employees will be laid off in May 2017 as the automaker moves production of its GMC Acadia mid-size SUV to a facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee. About half of the workers will be rehired when new models of the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs begin full production next year.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 10 points to 2,376. Bitcoin rose $2 to $1,238.
