Stocks Rise on Biotech Merger News

Stocks edged higher as investors turned their attention to a merger between Schering-Plough and Merck. Meanwhile, oil prices rose above $47 a barrel. The Dow rose 54 ponts to 6681 while Nasdaq surged 11 points to 1305.

On the upside

Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) received a $41 billion stock and cash offer from Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK).

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) warned that a strong dollar may negatively impact its global sales results, but reiterated strong fundamentals as same-store sales rose in February.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) sold 21 floors of its headquarters building near New York's Times Square to investment firm W.P. Carey & Co. for $225 million.
On the downside

Newspaper publisher McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) announced plans to reduce its workforce by 15% or 1600 positions.

Shares of clothing retailer AnnTaylor Stores (NYSE: ANN) continued to slide after reporting a large 4th quarter loss on Friday.

Human Genome Sciences (Nasdaq: HGSI) reported that its developing hepatitis C drug Albuferon met late stage study goals. Investors worried that competing products may perform better.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 5 to 4 on the NYSE and were slightly ahead on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost a fraction to 350.