Upgrades, Mergers Push Up Stocks

Analyst upgrades and mergers combined today to spur a rise the market during a relatively calm trading session Monday. As of 4:13 PM EST, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1%, or 104 points, to 10,414.14. The S&P 500 index rose even higher, by 13 points or 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%, or 28 points.

One of the main movements behind this rise came as the
U.S. Senate voted to end debate on revisions to the controversial health-care reform bill, a precursor to a full Senate vote on the measure. This news brought about a climb in the value of several major health-care companies, including Aetna (NYSE:AET), UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), and Cigna (NYSE:CI).

The tech sector also contributed to the rise as Intel was upgraded to "overweight" by Barclays. Shares of Intel, a company in the news lately for antitrust controversy, rose 3% as a result.

Other news involved two key mergers: the merger between Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) and Chattem (NASDAQ:CHTT) for $1.9 billion; and the merger between Bucyrus International (NASDAQ:BUCY) and Terex Corp. (NYSE:TEX) for $1.3 billion.

The rise in market value on Monday was welcome news for investors who anticipated a volatile trading week in light of several news stories last week. The fact that Christmas is Friday, resulting in an early market closure on Thursday, means that trading volume for the next three days will likely be lower than usual - thus offering a reprieve for many and the chance for a (relatively) stress-free Christmas.

More information regarding this story can be found at CNBC.com here.