Stocks mostly higher following Intel deal for chip designer

New York (AP) — U.S. stocks are modestly higher at midday, led by gains in banks and health care stocks.

Chip designer Altera jumped 6 percent, the most in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, after the company agreed to be acquired by Intel for $17 billion in cash.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose four points, less than 0.1 percent, to 18,014 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time Monday.

The S&P 500 rose a fraction 2,107. The Nasdaq composite gained a point to 5,070.

The price of crude oil fell 69 cents to $59.61 a barrel in New York.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.17 percent.

By Bernard Condon, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – June 1, 2015 @ 11:15am.