Stocks open higher as global markets rise, investors eye consumers

Stocks open sharply higher on Wall Street

Stocks are rising on Wall Street Monday after a weekend meeting of world financial leaders raised hopes for the economy.

U.S. stocks are following overseas markets, which are rising after officials from the Group of 20 countries agreed to keep economic stimulus measures in place.

Investors are awaiting retailers’ earnings reports to see how much consumers are spending as the holidays approach. The market is concerned that rising unemployment, which now sits at 10.2 percent, will further discourage already hesitant consumers from spending.

Still, the Labor Department’s jobless report Friday hasn’t deterred investors, who were buying stocks on the theory that the weak labor market will prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low for some time.

In the opening moments of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 81.70, or 0.8 percent, at 10,105.12. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.69, or 0.9 percent, at 1,078.99, and the Nasdaq composite index is up 23.61, or 1.12 percent, at 2,136.05.

In corporate news, Britain’s Cadbury Plc rejected a $16.4 billion hostile takeover bid from Kraft Foods Inc.

McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food chain, said monthly sales growth was relatively flat in the U.S. but offset by stronger growth globally.

Stock futures also got a lift as the House approved the health care reform bill.

Meanwhile, oil prices hovered around $79 a barrel as Hurricane Ida threatened the Gulf of Mexico. A barrel of crude traded at $79.06, up $1.63 cents.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was unchanged from 3.50 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.06 percent from 0.04 percent late Friday.

The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 1.6 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was up 1.4 percent.