US technology stocks closed higher on Monday after software maker Oracle Corp and online auction house eBay Inc announced multibillion-dollar acquisitions that signalled corporate interest in the sector.
Software maker Siebel Systems Inc surged 12.7 percent to $10.29 after its rival, Oracle, said it would buy the company in a deal that values Siebel at $5.85 billion. Oracle was up 1.6 percent at $13.49.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 4.38 points, or 0.04 percent, at 10,682.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.92 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,240.56. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.32 points, or 0.34 percent, at 2,182.83.
"Acquisition news is quite positive because it indicates a looking-ahead and willing-to-spend mentality," said Barbara Marcin, money manager at Gabelli Asset Management in Rye, New York. "This expansion is 2-1/2 years old and the consumer has more than done his or her part. Now is the time you need corporations to be willing to spend their very good earnings and their tremendous cash balances."
EBay agreed to acquire Internet phone company Skype in a deal worth up to $4.1 billion. Shares of eBay rose 0.8 percent to $38.94.
Shares of Google Inc and Yahoo Inc, which run their own Internet phone services, also piled on gains. Google shares climbed 3.6 percent to $309.74 and Yahoo rose 1.3 percent to $33.91.
"The dot-com logic of paying big prices to enter new markets has come roaring back," said industry analyst Greg Sterling of Kelsey Group. "There is a buying frenzy, a kind of "me-too" frenzy that we haven't seen since the late 1990s."
Crude oil prices declined, giving a lift to shares of industrials, which are big consumers of fuel. Diversified manufacturer 3M Co rose 1 percent to $74.23.
But shares of oil company Exxon Mobil Corp fell 1.2 percent to $62.52 as oil settled 74 cents lower at $63.34 a barrel. The American Stock Exchange index of energy companies slipped 2 percent.
In the financial sector, Wachovia Corp said it would acquire financial services company Westcorp Inc and subsidiary WFS Financial Inc to expand its auto-lending business.
Wachovia shares ended 1.6 percent lower at $49.57, Westcorp edged up 23 cents to $61.58 and WFS Financial jumped 8.1 percent to $70.15.
Commerce Bancorp Inc fell 8.9 percent to $30.75 after New Jersey's biggest bank said it expects second-half profit to fall short of analysts' forecasts, citing the impact of rising short-term interest rates.
Delta Air Lines Inc's shares fell more than 22 percent to 85 cents on widespread market speculation that the troubled No 3 US airline was close to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Electronic Arts Inc rose 5.3 percent to $59.09 after Wedbush Morgan Securities raised the video game maker's investment rating to "buy" from "hold."
Shares of apparel designer Polo Ralph Lauren Corp rose 3.8 percent to $51.76 after financial weekly newspaper Barron's said the stock is poised for a rise.
Trading was active on the NYSE, with about 1.43 billion shares changing hands, below last year's daily average of 1.46 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 1.73 billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of 1.81 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 9 to 8 on the NYSE, while gainers beat decliners by 4 to 3 on the Nasdaq.
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