Wall Street was higher in midday trade on Monday as quarterly reports and mergers and acquisition news were in focus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.81 percent higher to 13,963.34, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.54 percent to 2,702.01 and the S&P 500 gained 0.76 percent to 1,545.79.
The Russell 3000 index of small and mid-caps was up 0.52 percent to 840.82.
Credit card provider American Express (NYSE: AXP) was 35 cents higher to $64.86 ahead of the release of its second quarter report, due after the close of trade on the day.
In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) said that it had seen its earnings increase by 12 percent in the quarter, sending it $3.90 higher to $52.92.
Elsewhere in the sector, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) gained 33 cents to $25.23 and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NSYE: BMY) added 60 cents to $32.14, but Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) dropped 12 cents to $31.37.
In purchase news, offshore drilling contractor Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) and GlobalSantaFe Corp. (NYSE: GSF) announced that they have made a deal to merge.
Transocean was $6.28 higher to $116.25, while GlobalSantaFe gained $3.86 to $78.60.
The company created by the deal will carry a market value of around $53 billion.
In another deal, United Rentals (NYSE: URI) has agreed to be taken private by affiliates of Cereberus Capital Management in a cash deal worth $4 billion.
Shares in United Rentals were trading $33.08 at mid-session, up 71 cents.