At midday in New York on Monday, Wall Street had made no progress to speak of. Midway through the session both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were steady, at 12,647.40 and 1,452.10 respectively. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent lower to 2,508.19.
The chemicals sector was higher on bids rumors. Lyondell Chemical (NYSE: LYO) added 4.3 percent to $33.00 on rumors that Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW; TYO: 4850) could receive a bid from private equity. Even though there have been no confirmations of such an offer in the works, Dow gained 5.2 percent to $45.72.
The pharmaceuticals sector was also up. Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) added 0.5 percent to $54.50 after the Food and Drug Administration approved its Cymbalta antidepressant for use in treating generalized anxiety disorder. Meanwhile, Merck (NYSE: MRK) gained 4.1 percent to $44.70 after Citigroup (NYSE: C) raised its recommendation on the drug maker from “hold” to “buy” based on its hopes for Merck’s Januvia diabetes treatment.
An announcement that private equity will purchase Texas utility TXU (NYSE: TXU) for $45 billion. The deal will set a new record for a leveraged buy-out. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific Group will pay $32 billion in cash and take on $12 billion in existing debt.